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2020 Greatest of All Time Sports Draft-Zow wins, Judges still suck (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter timschochet
- Start date
Tom Hagen
Footballguy
As long as my choice scores well I agree with the method. If not, it sucks and you should rethink it. Hahahaa
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 9
Super Bowl XXXII (32)
Date: Jan 25, 1998
Location: San Diego
Final Score: DEN 31, GB 24
Line: GB -13.5
Halftime Show: Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, and Queen Latifah
Cost of 30 second ad: $1.3mil
QB Stats: Favre 25-42-1 256 3td, Elway 12-22-1 123 0td
Other Notable Stats: D.Levens 19-90 and 5-56, A.Freeman 9-126 2td, T.Davis 30-157 3td
Big Plays: Longest play of game was ed McCaffrey 36 yd catch.
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First quarter
Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman returned the opening kickoff 19 yards to the Green Bay 24-yard line. On the third play of the drive, quarterback Brett Favre kept the offense on the field by completing a 13-yard pass to Freeman on 3rd down and 9. Then running back Dorsey Levens rushed the ball on three consecutive plays, gaining 27 yards to advance to the Denver 35-yard line. Favre finished the drive with two completions to Freeman: the first one for 13 yards, and the second one a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Packers a 7–0 lead (the Packers were the third team to take the opening kickoff down the field and score a touchdown on that drive; the other two were the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX).
The Broncos responded with a touchdown of their own. Denver running back Vaughn Hebron returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to their own 42-yard line. Denver then drove to the Green Bay 46-yard line. On third down, a holding penalty on Packers defensive back Doug Evans nullified quarterback John Elway's incompletion and gave the Broncos a first down. On the next play, running back Terrell Davis ran the ball 27 yards to the 14-yard line. Then after a 2-yard run by Davis, Elway scrambled 10 yards to gain a first down at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Davis capped off the 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game (this is to date the only Super Bowl in which both teams scored TDs on their opening drives).
On the second play of the Packers' next possession, Denver defensive back Tyrone Braxton intercepted a pass from Favre at Green Bay's 45-yard line. Aided by five runs by Davis for 29 yards, the Broncos marched 45 yards to score on Elway's 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 2nd quarter, taking a 14–7 lead.
Second quarter
Elway's touchdown play involved a fake handoff to Davis, who was previously taken out of the game during the drive because the onset of a migraine headache after being inadvertently tripped by LeRoy Butler had severely impaired his vision. But head coach Mike Shanahan decided to send him into the game for the 3rd-down play, believing that the Packers would not be fooled by a fake handoff without Davis on the field. Davis later said his vision was so impaired that he was afraid Elway would call an audible at the line and try to hand him the ball. Despite his blurred vision, Davis perfectly executed the play, drawing the Green Bay defense into the middle of the line as Elway rushed to the right and into the end zone completely untouched. By the second half, Davis had taken migraine medication, and his vision had returned to normal, allowing him to play the rest of the game.
On the Packers' ensuing possession, Broncos safety Steve Atwater forced a fumble while sacking Favre, and defensive end Neil Smith recovered the ball on the Packers 33-yard line. Although the Broncos were unable to get a first down, kicker Jason Elam made a 51-yard field goal, the second longest in Super Bowl history, to increase Denver's lead to 17–7. Both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, and Denver punter Tom Rouen's 47-yard kick planted Green Bay at their own 5-yard line with 7:38 left in the quarter. But Green Bay stormed down the field on their ensuing drive, marching 95 yards in 17 plays and scoring with Favre's 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Chmura with just 12 seconds left in the half. Thus at halftime, the Broncos held a slim 17–14 lead.
Third quarter
Green Bay kicked to Denver to start the second half. On the first play after the kickoff, Packer defensive back Tyrone Williams forced and recovered a fumble from Davis. Green Bay took possession with good field position at the Broncos' 26-yard line to begin the second half. But Denver's defense forced a three-and-out. However, on the ensuing field goal attempt, Denver's special teams were called for an offsides penalty, giving the Packers a second 1st and 10 at the Broncos' 15-yard line. But the Broncos defense forced a second three-and-out in back-to-back possessions, stalling the Packers' drive at the 9-yard line and forcing them to settle for a 27-yard Ryan Longwell field goal, tying the game at 17–17.
Green Bay kicked off once again and Denver's offense stalled once more, resulting in a punt, giving the Packers possession with good field position again, this time near their 40-yard line. But Denver's defense forced another three-and-out for the third straight time. However, again on the ensuing punt, the Broncos' special teams were called for an offsides penalty, giving Green Bay a fresh set of downs near midfield. Denver's defense then forced another punt with a fourth three-and-out in a row.
Green Bay punter Craig Hentrich's 51-yard kick pinned the Broncos back at their own 8-yard line. But the Packers' defense could not stop Denver as they marched on a 13-play, 92-yard drive to regain the lead. Aided by a 36-yard reception by receiver Ed McCaffrey, the Broncos advanced to the Green Bay 12-yard line. On 3rd and 6 from the 12-yard line, Elway scrambled for an 8-yard run and dove for the first down, a play in which he was hit so hard by Packers defenders Butler and Mike Prior that he spun sideways in mid-air. This run was later referred to as "The Helicopter," and what many consider as Elway's career-defining moment and the defining moment of Super Bowl XXXII. Two plays later, Davis scored on another 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Broncos the lead, 24–17.
On the ensuing kickoff, Denver's special teams player Detron Smith ran full speed into the wedge of the Green Bay blockers, forcing Freeman outside, to his left. Freeman was hit as he held the ball exposed while running sideways and fumbled, then Denver defensive back Tim McKyer recovered the ball at the Packers' 22-yard line. The Broncos immediately tried to capitalize on the turnover by trying a quick-strike touchdown pass, intended for Rod Smith as he ran a post pattern following a fake handoff and a roll out by Elway, but Packers safety Eugene Robinson intercepted Elway's pass in the end zone and returned it to the 15-yard line. (see my comments about this play)
Fourth quarter
After the interception, the Packers marched 85 yards on four straight pass completions, three of them receptions by Freeman, to tie the game once again 1:28 into the 4th quarter with Freeman's 13-yard touchdown catch. On the scoring play, Freeman and Robert Brooks ran a "criss-cross" pattern, with Freeman on the inside running towards the sidelines. Denver defensive back Darrien Gordon hesitated as to which receiver to cover, and Favre hit Freeman for the score, tying the game at 24–24.
After the ensuing kick-off, the Packers forced Denver's offense to punt. With a short punt of only 33 yards, the Packers took possession with good field position, having 1st-and-10 at their own 48-yard line. The Packers drove to Denver's 39-yard line. On 3rd and 8, Favre dropped back to pass and Denver's defense blitzed, leaving Packers receiver Robert Brooks to face one-on-one coverage deep. Favre attempted the pass to a seemingly wide-open Brooks at Denver's 16-yard line, but Broncos safety Steve Atwater closed in and knocked the pass away at the last second, leaving the Packers just outside of field-goal range and forcing another punt. The Packers' defense was able to stop Denver's offense on the ensuing possession again, giving Green Bay 1st-and-10 at their own 10-yard line with 5:25 remaining in the game and Favre, the 3-time league MVP, at the helm. With the game in the balance, the Broncos defense forced a fifth critical three-and-out in the second half. Packers kicker Hentrich then punted the ball 39 yards to the Packers' 49-yard line, giving Denver a chance to end the game on a potentially game-winning drive with only 3:27 left in the game. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Packers linebacker Darius Holland committed a 15-yard face-mask penalty while tackling Davis on a 2-yard run, moving the ball to the 32-yard line. Two plays later, Elway completed a 23-yard pass to fullback Howard Griffith, aided by a powerful block by Ed McCaffrey. A holding penalty pushed the Broncos back to the 18-yard line, but then Davis rushed 17 yards to the 1-yard line, and the Broncos called a time-out. This left the Broncos facing 2nd and goal with 1:47 left on the clock. Green Bay had two time-outs remaining.
Packers coach Mike Holmgren told his team to let the Broncos score to maximize the time the Packers would have on the clock for a potential game-tying drive. He admitted later that he had thought that it was 1st and goal rather than 2nd and goal, a crucial distinction in clock-management decision-making on the play. Davis then scored his third rushing touchdown on 2nd and goal, leaving 1:45 on the clock. The Broncos now had a one-touchdown lead, with the score 31–24.
The Packers attempted one final drive to try to tie the game before the end of regulation and send the contest into overtime. Shanahan famously instructed his defensive coordinators to keep playing the same blitzing defense they'd done throughout the game as Green Bay attempted to drive downfield in the final two minutes, rather than playing prevent defense. Freeman returned the Broncos' kickoff 22 yards to the 30-yard line. On the very first play of the drive, the Packers advanced to the Broncos' 48-yard line with a 22-yard screen pass, leaving them with 1:30 still remaining in the game and two time-outs. But following the first pass, rather than use one of their time-outs, the Packers hurried to the line of scrimmage and ran a second consecutive screen pass. The pass was complete, but the receiver was stopped for no gain. The play cost the Packers 19 seconds, leaving 1:11 on the game clock and also forcing the Packers to take one of their two time-outs.
On the next play Favre completed another pass to Levens. Levens picked up 13 yards and was able to run out of bounds, stopping the clock with 1:04 left in the game. The Packers had 1st-and-10 at the Broncos' 35-yard line with one time-out remaining. The Broncos defense would stop the Packers on the next four downs. On the first-down play, Favre completed a 4-yard pass to Levens, but he was stopped in-bounds. The Packers hurried to the line but 20 seconds ran off before Favre could attempt a second pass. On second down, Favre attempted a pass downfield that hit receiver Antonio Freeman in both hands and the chest at the Broncos' 15, but Freeman could not handle the ball. The incomplete pass stopped the clock, but left the Packers with 3rd-and-6 and now only :37 seconds remaining. On 3rd down, Favre intended the pass for receiver Robert Brooks, covered by Denver's Randy Hilliard, but both were blasted by Atwater delivering a seismic hit, and the pass was incomplete. All three players were knocked out of the game. Because of NFL rules regarding injuries to players in the final two minutes of a game, both teams were charged a time-out since players on both teams were injured and needed to be tended to. This left the Packers facing 4th and 6 with the ball at the Broncos' 31-yard line, with no time-outs and the clock stopped at :32 seconds remaining. On 4th down, Denver linebacker John Mobley broke up a pass intended for Chmura, enabling the Broncos to take the ball back and run out the clock for the victory.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Pepsi-Cola. A skysurfer does aerial tricks with a goose, and they share a Pepsi afterwards.
Top 5
Interesting Story Line:
1) The Broncos entered Super Bowl XXXII after suffering four Super Bowl losses: Super Bowls XII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV from 1978, 1987, 1988, and 1990, respectively. In all of those losses, the Broncos never had the ability to rush well enough or score enough points to be competitive. Denver had been defeated by a large margin in each one, losing all four by a combined scoring margin of 163–50.
My Comments: For me, there was only one story line to this game as noted above. This is one of my favorite Super Bowls ever. I loved it in so many ways. It was incredibly exciting from start to finish.
It was also my best day ever betting in my life. So good, that the urge and thrill to bet has really never come back to be as close as it was back then.
When I was in college, 1978-1982, I did fairly well betting on baseball and football games. I was fairly disciplined. $50 a game. Never more, never less. I was on my own at 17 1/2, so any extra money in my pocket was always a good thing. But when I got married in 1984, all the betting had to stop. And I didn't mind, but I did get the OK to bet one day a year. $700 on the Super Bowl was the agreement we made. And I did well, because early on, almost every SB was won by the team if it had the best rushing game and defense. Entering this SB, I was 14-2 on SB bets. Until this SB, all $700 went on the one bet I liked the most.
In 1997, the Internet had come into full swing, and I hooked up with Intertops, which is now the oldest sports betting site out there. This was so much easier than the bookie in college or mailing money to a friend in Vegas like I did right before the net for a few years.
Elway was 0-4 in SB's as noted above. Why? Because he never had a running game and a solid defense.
The line came out at GB -13.5 with O/U at 48.5. I loved DEN and the OVER.
I immediately placed my one $700 bet on a parlay of DEN +13.5/Over 48.5.
This internet was a new thing. And It was really cool that I could use my CC to fund the $700 to Intertops, and then go to the CC company website and pay the bill online quickly.
There were still many days before the game, and like a kid in a candy store, I was seeing all the different kinds of bets in right in front of my eyes for really the first time ever. I saw a bet that was listed at 2.5-1. DEN +7.5. I thought to myself that if Denver were to lose, there was no way they would lose by more than 7 points. So since I had paid off the $700 already, I shipped over another $700 and bet on that. And then I shipped over $220 and bet $110 each on DEN +13.5 and 1st Q over 10.0. I was convinced that both teams would score a TD in the 1st Q. And they did. At that point, I thought I was done and prayed that the wife would not see the CC bill (she did not).
Now the Friday before the game in the late afternoon, I was the co-host of "Fantasy Fever," the first ever fantasy sports Internet radio show on sportsline.com. My host and I did an hour on Friday's, and we wrapped it up with going over our predictions for the game as our loyal following demanded them. I caught a lot of flack for my predictions from my host and the callers. When asked to predict a score, I said, "Broncos 31, Packers 21."
Later that night, I bet $50 on the Broncos to score exactly "31" points, at 50 to 1.
When the Broncos scored to end the 3rd and led 24-17, I thought I had a solid chance of hitting that "31" score for Denver. I remember being upset that the Broncos got the ball right back on the kickoff fumble and was relieved when Elway was immediately picked. If Broncos hit 31 there or kicked a FG, I thought there was no way I could hit 31.
We took turns each year watching the SB with one of our neighbors a few doors down. We were at their house that year. During the game , my wife kept asking me, "how are your players doing?" That was our code for "how are your bets doing?"
When Terrell scored with 1:45 to go, to make it 31-24, we went just nuts. I'd hit every bet, every parlay. The day a bettor dreams of. I put in like $1670, and the following Thursday, I had a Fed Ex for a check of around $7800. That was a lot of money back then. As always, I just gave it to her and we put a new roof on the house.
Super Bowl XXXII (32)
Date: Jan 25, 1998
Location: San Diego
Final Score: DEN 31, GB 24
Line: GB -13.5
Halftime Show: Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, and Queen Latifah
Cost of 30 second ad: $1.3mil
QB Stats: Favre 25-42-1 256 3td, Elway 12-22-1 123 0td
Other Notable Stats: D.Levens 19-90 and 5-56, A.Freeman 9-126 2td, T.Davis 30-157 3td
Big Plays: Longest play of game was ed McCaffrey 36 yd catch.
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First quarter
Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman returned the opening kickoff 19 yards to the Green Bay 24-yard line. On the third play of the drive, quarterback Brett Favre kept the offense on the field by completing a 13-yard pass to Freeman on 3rd down and 9. Then running back Dorsey Levens rushed the ball on three consecutive plays, gaining 27 yards to advance to the Denver 35-yard line. Favre finished the drive with two completions to Freeman: the first one for 13 yards, and the second one a 22-yard touchdown pass to give the Packers a 7–0 lead (the Packers were the third team to take the opening kickoff down the field and score a touchdown on that drive; the other two were the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX).
The Broncos responded with a touchdown of their own. Denver running back Vaughn Hebron returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards to their own 42-yard line. Denver then drove to the Green Bay 46-yard line. On third down, a holding penalty on Packers defensive back Doug Evans nullified quarterback John Elway's incompletion and gave the Broncos a first down. On the next play, running back Terrell Davis ran the ball 27 yards to the 14-yard line. Then after a 2-yard run by Davis, Elway scrambled 10 yards to gain a first down at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Davis capped off the 10-play, 58-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game (this is to date the only Super Bowl in which both teams scored TDs on their opening drives).
On the second play of the Packers' next possession, Denver defensive back Tyrone Braxton intercepted a pass from Favre at Green Bay's 45-yard line. Aided by five runs by Davis for 29 yards, the Broncos marched 45 yards to score on Elway's 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the 2nd quarter, taking a 14–7 lead.
Second quarter
Elway's touchdown play involved a fake handoff to Davis, who was previously taken out of the game during the drive because the onset of a migraine headache after being inadvertently tripped by LeRoy Butler had severely impaired his vision. But head coach Mike Shanahan decided to send him into the game for the 3rd-down play, believing that the Packers would not be fooled by a fake handoff without Davis on the field. Davis later said his vision was so impaired that he was afraid Elway would call an audible at the line and try to hand him the ball. Despite his blurred vision, Davis perfectly executed the play, drawing the Green Bay defense into the middle of the line as Elway rushed to the right and into the end zone completely untouched. By the second half, Davis had taken migraine medication, and his vision had returned to normal, allowing him to play the rest of the game.
On the Packers' ensuing possession, Broncos safety Steve Atwater forced a fumble while sacking Favre, and defensive end Neil Smith recovered the ball on the Packers 33-yard line. Although the Broncos were unable to get a first down, kicker Jason Elam made a 51-yard field goal, the second longest in Super Bowl history, to increase Denver's lead to 17–7. Both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, and Denver punter Tom Rouen's 47-yard kick planted Green Bay at their own 5-yard line with 7:38 left in the quarter. But Green Bay stormed down the field on their ensuing drive, marching 95 yards in 17 plays and scoring with Favre's 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Chmura with just 12 seconds left in the half. Thus at halftime, the Broncos held a slim 17–14 lead.
Third quarter
Green Bay kicked to Denver to start the second half. On the first play after the kickoff, Packer defensive back Tyrone Williams forced and recovered a fumble from Davis. Green Bay took possession with good field position at the Broncos' 26-yard line to begin the second half. But Denver's defense forced a three-and-out. However, on the ensuing field goal attempt, Denver's special teams were called for an offsides penalty, giving the Packers a second 1st and 10 at the Broncos' 15-yard line. But the Broncos defense forced a second three-and-out in back-to-back possessions, stalling the Packers' drive at the 9-yard line and forcing them to settle for a 27-yard Ryan Longwell field goal, tying the game at 17–17.
Green Bay kicked off once again and Denver's offense stalled once more, resulting in a punt, giving the Packers possession with good field position again, this time near their 40-yard line. But Denver's defense forced another three-and-out for the third straight time. However, again on the ensuing punt, the Broncos' special teams were called for an offsides penalty, giving Green Bay a fresh set of downs near midfield. Denver's defense then forced another punt with a fourth three-and-out in a row.
Green Bay punter Craig Hentrich's 51-yard kick pinned the Broncos back at their own 8-yard line. But the Packers' defense could not stop Denver as they marched on a 13-play, 92-yard drive to regain the lead. Aided by a 36-yard reception by receiver Ed McCaffrey, the Broncos advanced to the Green Bay 12-yard line. On 3rd and 6 from the 12-yard line, Elway scrambled for an 8-yard run and dove for the first down, a play in which he was hit so hard by Packers defenders Butler and Mike Prior that he spun sideways in mid-air. This run was later referred to as "The Helicopter," and what many consider as Elway's career-defining moment and the defining moment of Super Bowl XXXII. Two plays later, Davis scored on another 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Broncos the lead, 24–17.
On the ensuing kickoff, Denver's special teams player Detron Smith ran full speed into the wedge of the Green Bay blockers, forcing Freeman outside, to his left. Freeman was hit as he held the ball exposed while running sideways and fumbled, then Denver defensive back Tim McKyer recovered the ball at the Packers' 22-yard line. The Broncos immediately tried to capitalize on the turnover by trying a quick-strike touchdown pass, intended for Rod Smith as he ran a post pattern following a fake handoff and a roll out by Elway, but Packers safety Eugene Robinson intercepted Elway's pass in the end zone and returned it to the 15-yard line. (see my comments about this play)
Fourth quarter
After the interception, the Packers marched 85 yards on four straight pass completions, three of them receptions by Freeman, to tie the game once again 1:28 into the 4th quarter with Freeman's 13-yard touchdown catch. On the scoring play, Freeman and Robert Brooks ran a "criss-cross" pattern, with Freeman on the inside running towards the sidelines. Denver defensive back Darrien Gordon hesitated as to which receiver to cover, and Favre hit Freeman for the score, tying the game at 24–24.
After the ensuing kick-off, the Packers forced Denver's offense to punt. With a short punt of only 33 yards, the Packers took possession with good field position, having 1st-and-10 at their own 48-yard line. The Packers drove to Denver's 39-yard line. On 3rd and 8, Favre dropped back to pass and Denver's defense blitzed, leaving Packers receiver Robert Brooks to face one-on-one coverage deep. Favre attempted the pass to a seemingly wide-open Brooks at Denver's 16-yard line, but Broncos safety Steve Atwater closed in and knocked the pass away at the last second, leaving the Packers just outside of field-goal range and forcing another punt. The Packers' defense was able to stop Denver's offense on the ensuing possession again, giving Green Bay 1st-and-10 at their own 10-yard line with 5:25 remaining in the game and Favre, the 3-time league MVP, at the helm. With the game in the balance, the Broncos defense forced a fifth critical three-and-out in the second half. Packers kicker Hentrich then punted the ball 39 yards to the Packers' 49-yard line, giving Denver a chance to end the game on a potentially game-winning drive with only 3:27 left in the game. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Packers linebacker Darius Holland committed a 15-yard face-mask penalty while tackling Davis on a 2-yard run, moving the ball to the 32-yard line. Two plays later, Elway completed a 23-yard pass to fullback Howard Griffith, aided by a powerful block by Ed McCaffrey. A holding penalty pushed the Broncos back to the 18-yard line, but then Davis rushed 17 yards to the 1-yard line, and the Broncos called a time-out. This left the Broncos facing 2nd and goal with 1:47 left on the clock. Green Bay had two time-outs remaining.
Packers coach Mike Holmgren told his team to let the Broncos score to maximize the time the Packers would have on the clock for a potential game-tying drive. He admitted later that he had thought that it was 1st and goal rather than 2nd and goal, a crucial distinction in clock-management decision-making on the play. Davis then scored his third rushing touchdown on 2nd and goal, leaving 1:45 on the clock. The Broncos now had a one-touchdown lead, with the score 31–24.
The Packers attempted one final drive to try to tie the game before the end of regulation and send the contest into overtime. Shanahan famously instructed his defensive coordinators to keep playing the same blitzing defense they'd done throughout the game as Green Bay attempted to drive downfield in the final two minutes, rather than playing prevent defense. Freeman returned the Broncos' kickoff 22 yards to the 30-yard line. On the very first play of the drive, the Packers advanced to the Broncos' 48-yard line with a 22-yard screen pass, leaving them with 1:30 still remaining in the game and two time-outs. But following the first pass, rather than use one of their time-outs, the Packers hurried to the line of scrimmage and ran a second consecutive screen pass. The pass was complete, but the receiver was stopped for no gain. The play cost the Packers 19 seconds, leaving 1:11 on the game clock and also forcing the Packers to take one of their two time-outs.
On the next play Favre completed another pass to Levens. Levens picked up 13 yards and was able to run out of bounds, stopping the clock with 1:04 left in the game. The Packers had 1st-and-10 at the Broncos' 35-yard line with one time-out remaining. The Broncos defense would stop the Packers on the next four downs. On the first-down play, Favre completed a 4-yard pass to Levens, but he was stopped in-bounds. The Packers hurried to the line but 20 seconds ran off before Favre could attempt a second pass. On second down, Favre attempted a pass downfield that hit receiver Antonio Freeman in both hands and the chest at the Broncos' 15, but Freeman could not handle the ball. The incomplete pass stopped the clock, but left the Packers with 3rd-and-6 and now only :37 seconds remaining. On 3rd down, Favre intended the pass for receiver Robert Brooks, covered by Denver's Randy Hilliard, but both were blasted by Atwater delivering a seismic hit, and the pass was incomplete. All three players were knocked out of the game. Because of NFL rules regarding injuries to players in the final two minutes of a game, both teams were charged a time-out since players on both teams were injured and needed to be tended to. This left the Packers facing 4th and 6 with the ball at the Broncos' 31-yard line, with no time-outs and the clock stopped at :32 seconds remaining. On 4th down, Denver linebacker John Mobley broke up a pass intended for Chmura, enabling the Broncos to take the ball back and run out the clock for the victory.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Pepsi-Cola. A skysurfer does aerial tricks with a goose, and they share a Pepsi afterwards.
Top 5
Interesting Story Line:
1) The Broncos entered Super Bowl XXXII after suffering four Super Bowl losses: Super Bowls XII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV from 1978, 1987, 1988, and 1990, respectively. In all of those losses, the Broncos never had the ability to rush well enough or score enough points to be competitive. Denver had been defeated by a large margin in each one, losing all four by a combined scoring margin of 163–50.
My Comments: For me, there was only one story line to this game as noted above. This is one of my favorite Super Bowls ever. I loved it in so many ways. It was incredibly exciting from start to finish.
It was also my best day ever betting in my life. So good, that the urge and thrill to bet has really never come back to be as close as it was back then.
When I was in college, 1978-1982, I did fairly well betting on baseball and football games. I was fairly disciplined. $50 a game. Never more, never less. I was on my own at 17 1/2, so any extra money in my pocket was always a good thing. But when I got married in 1984, all the betting had to stop. And I didn't mind, but I did get the OK to bet one day a year. $700 on the Super Bowl was the agreement we made. And I did well, because early on, almost every SB was won by the team if it had the best rushing game and defense. Entering this SB, I was 14-2 on SB bets. Until this SB, all $700 went on the one bet I liked the most.
In 1997, the Internet had come into full swing, and I hooked up with Intertops, which is now the oldest sports betting site out there. This was so much easier than the bookie in college or mailing money to a friend in Vegas like I did right before the net for a few years.
Elway was 0-4 in SB's as noted above. Why? Because he never had a running game and a solid defense.
The line came out at GB -13.5 with O/U at 48.5. I loved DEN and the OVER.
I immediately placed my one $700 bet on a parlay of DEN +13.5/Over 48.5.
This internet was a new thing. And It was really cool that I could use my CC to fund the $700 to Intertops, and then go to the CC company website and pay the bill online quickly.
There were still many days before the game, and like a kid in a candy store, I was seeing all the different kinds of bets in right in front of my eyes for really the first time ever. I saw a bet that was listed at 2.5-1. DEN +7.5. I thought to myself that if Denver were to lose, there was no way they would lose by more than 7 points. So since I had paid off the $700 already, I shipped over another $700 and bet on that. And then I shipped over $220 and bet $110 each on DEN +13.5 and 1st Q over 10.0. I was convinced that both teams would score a TD in the 1st Q. And they did. At that point, I thought I was done and prayed that the wife would not see the CC bill (she did not).
Now the Friday before the game in the late afternoon, I was the co-host of "Fantasy Fever," the first ever fantasy sports Internet radio show on sportsline.com. My host and I did an hour on Friday's, and we wrapped it up with going over our predictions for the game as our loyal following demanded them. I caught a lot of flack for my predictions from my host and the callers. When asked to predict a score, I said, "Broncos 31, Packers 21."
Later that night, I bet $50 on the Broncos to score exactly "31" points, at 50 to 1.
When the Broncos scored to end the 3rd and led 24-17, I thought I had a solid chance of hitting that "31" score for Denver. I remember being upset that the Broncos got the ball right back on the kickoff fumble and was relieved when Elway was immediately picked. If Broncos hit 31 there or kicked a FG, I thought there was no way I could hit 31.
We took turns each year watching the SB with one of our neighbors a few doors down. We were at their house that year. During the game , my wife kept asking me, "how are your players doing?" That was our code for "how are your bets doing?"
When Terrell scored with 1:45 to go, to make it 31-24, we went just nuts. I'd hit every bet, every parlay. The day a bettor dreams of. I put in like $1670, and the following Thursday, I had a Fed Ex for a check of around $7800. That was a lot of money back then. As always, I just gave it to her and we put a new roof on the house.
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
Women’s basketball rankings are coming along.
i am willing to commit now, though I am not promising perfection...
fortunately, I doubt that anyone here really knows anything to be that aggrieved...
i am willing to commit now, though I am not promising perfection...
fortunately, I doubt that anyone here really knows anything to be that aggrieved...
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 10
Super Bowl XXXIV (34)
Date: Jan 30, 2000
Location: Atlanta
Final Score: STL 23, TENN 16
Line: STL -7
Halftime Show: Phil Collins, Christine Aguilera
Cost of 30 second ad: $1.9mil
QB Stats: Warner 24-45-0 414 2td, McNair 22-26-0 214 0td
Other Notable Stats: T.Holt 7-109 1td, I.Bruce 6-162 1td, M.Faulk 10-17 and 5-90, E.George 28-95 2td and 2-35, S.McNair 8-64
Big Plays: Isaac Bruce 73 Yard TD, M.Faulk 52 yd catch
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Half
The two teams’ defenses seemed to dominate most of the first half. The Rams started the game out strong by taking the opening kickoff and marching to the Tennessee 17-yard line. But on third down, safety Blaine Bishop pressured quarterback Kurt Warner to throw an incomplete pass. Then the ensuing field goal attempt failed when punter/holder Mike Horan fumbled the snap. The Titans responded by moving the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line, aided with running back Eddie George's 32-yard reception. However, they also came up empty after kicker Al Del Greco missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
For the rest of the half, the Titans were forced to punt on all of their possessions. In contrast, the Rams were able to reach inside the Tennessee 20-yard line on all four of their remaining drives before halftime, but on each one, the Titans' defense forced St. Louis to settle for field goal attempts from kicker Jeff Wilkins, who was successful in making three of them, but missed one attempt from 34 yards. The Rams ended up leading at halftime, 9–0, but their scoring margin over the Titans seemed somewhat small, considering they drove into scoring range on every one of their first-half possessions and outgained Tennessee in total yards, 294–89.
Third Quarter
Both teams' offenses started to get going in the second half. The Titans took the opening kickoff of the 3rd quarter and drove 43 yards to the St. Louis 29-yard line. But Tennessee remained scoreless after defensive back Todd Lyght blocked Del Greco's 47-yard field goal attempt. After that, Warner converted a third down situation with a completion to Marshall Faulk, then on the next two plays threw a 31-yard strike to wide receiver Isaac Bruce and a 16-yard completion to tight end Ernie Conwell before finishing the 68-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt, giving St. Louis a 16–0 lead. On the completion to Conwell, Bishop combined to make the tackle, but suffered a spinal injury and had to leave the game. The game was delayed for several minutes while Bishop was being treated.
Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 34-yard line. From there, five runs by George good for 24 yards, three completions from quarterback Steve McNair to tight end Frank Wycheck for 15 yards and a run by McNair for two advanced the ball to the St. Louis 25-yard line. Then McNair scrambled 23 yards to the 2-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by George two plays later. The touchdown cut the Titans' deficit to 16–6 after McNair's pass to Wycheck on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
Fourth Quarter
The Titans' first score sparked them to rally. After forcing the Rams to punt on their ensuing possession, a pair of 21-yard completions from McNair to tight end Jackie Harris and wide receiver Isaac Byrd aided a 13-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by George's 2-yard touchdown run to make the score 16–13. The Tennessee defense then forced the Rams to a three-and-out, and Horan's 30-yard punt gave the Titans the ball back at their 47-yard line. The Titans' offense then drove only 28 yards on their ensuing possession, but it was close enough for Del Greco to attempt a 43-yard field goal. This time, Del Greco's kick was good, tying the score at 16–16 with just 2:12 left in the game. The 16-point deficit was the largest deficit to be erased in a Super Bowl and the first greater than 10 points. It was also the first time in any Super Bowl a team down double digits in the 4th quarter had tied the game.
Then on the Rams' first play of their ensuing drive, Warner threw a long pass that was caught at the Titans' 38-yard line by Bruce, who then ran it all the way into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown to give St. Louis a 23–16 lead. Likewise, in the 1951 NFL Championship Game, quarterback Norm Van Brocklin's 73-yard game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Tom Fears broke a 17–17 tie in the fourth quarter and gave the Rams a seven-point victory to win the NFL title. Warner's touchdown pass to Bruce was his only completion of the 4th quarter.
The Titans took over the ball at their own 12-yard line with 1:48 left in the game after committing a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff. McNair started out the drive with a pair of completions to Mason and Wycheck for gains of 9 and 7 yards to reach the 28-yard line. After an incomplete pass, defensive back Dré Bly's 15-yard face-mask penalty while tackling McNair on a 12-yard scramble gave the Titans a 1st down at the St. Louis 45-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis was penalized 5 yards for being offside, moving the ball to the 40-yard line with 59 seconds left. McNair ran for 2 yards, then threw a 7-yard completion to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. On the next play, Tennessee nearly lost the ball when Bly stepped in front of a pass intended for Mason, only to have it go right through his arms. Two plays later, with the Titans facing 3rd down and 5, McNair was hit by two Rams defenders, but he escaped and completed a 16-yard pass to Dyson to gain a 1st down at the Rams' 10-yard line. Tennessee then used up their final timeout with just six seconds left, giving them a chance for one last play to tie the game.
The final play The Tackle
The game's final play from the Rams' 10-yard line has gone down in NFL history as simply "The Tackle". Tennessee's plan was to use tight end Frank Wycheck as a decoy. Wycheck would run straight up the field on the right side, to lure linebacker Mike Jones away from receiver Kevin Dyson. Dyson would then slant left through the middle of the field. With Jones occupying Wycheck, quarterback Steve McNair would pass the ball to Dyson, who would be open from about five yards out for the score.
As the play began, everything appeared to go as planned. Jones ran with Wycheck up the field at the beginning of the play. However, as the pass was being delivered to Dyson, Jones, who was at the goal line, glanced over his left shoulder and noticed an open Dyson catching the ball. Jones switched directions and ran toward the Titans receiver. Dyson ran directly toward the end zone, but his legs were wrapped up by Jones with about two and a half yards left to the goal line.
Since Dyson was being tackled by the legs, there was still the possibility he could reach towards the end zone and get the ball across the goal line. Both players went into a rolling motion as Dyson outstretched his hand with the football towards the goal line in the hopes of scoring the touchdown. Though his reach was close, and the ball mere inches away from the end zone, it was still not enough to score. As the rolling motion came to an end, with Jones now on top of Dyson's legs, his shoulder touched the ground and, therefore, the game was over. Had Dyson scored and the extra point been converted, it would have been the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime; it wasn't until 17 years later in Super Bowl LI that the first Super Bowl to go into overtime occurred. Alternatively, had Dyson scored, the Titans could have attempted a 2-point conversion for the outright win on the final play of the game; this happened for the first time two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Considering the magnitude of the Super Bowl, and the wild game that preceded it, "The Tackle" is considered one of the greatest and most exciting game-ending plays in modern NFL history. The image of Dyson stretching the ball to the goal line with Jones wrapped around him has become a staple of NFL highlights. ESPN.com ranked "The Tackle" as the 35th greatest moment of the past 25 years in sports (as of 2007).[51] NFL.com ranked Jones's tackle of Dyson as the fourth greatest clutch moment in Super Bowl history. Fox Sports ranked The Tackle as the Greatest Clutch Play in Super Bowl History (as of 2007). Like Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, Jones was included on the NFL Network's "Top 10 One-Hit Wonders" list (Jones was #10, Brown was #3), although Jones also mirrored Brown in having a solid if unspectacular career outside of his Super Bowl heroics.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Budweiser. Rex the Wonder Dog imagines chasing a Budweiser truck, only to blindly leap headfirst onto a mini-van.
Top 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) This game is often referred to as the "Dot-com Super Bowl" due to the large amount of advertisements purchased by dot-com companies.
2) E-Trade ran a commercial featuring a chimpanzee dancing in an E-Trade T-shirt and the text "Well, we just wasted 2 million bucks". Lifeminders.com ran a commercial of plain typewritten text beginning with the line "This is the worst commercial on the Super Bowl. But it might be the best thing you see tonight." Pets.com famously paid millions for an advertisement featuring a sock puppet, though the company would collapse before the end of the year.
3) Little was expected of the Rams for 1999. Indeed, ESPN The Magazine's 1999 NFL preview predicted the Rams would be the worst team in the NFL, worse even than the Cleveland Browns, who had returned as an expansion team that year.
4) It was the last Super Bowl in which neither team had already won a Super Bowl.
My Comments: With 294 yards in the first half, the Rams should have come away with much more than nine points. And that nearly cost them the game. McNair led a great comeback to erase at 16-0 Rams lead, to tie it at 16-16. Bruce made a great catch and run for 73 yds with 1:54 to play to take the lead. And all of that set up the greatest non-scoring final play we will probably ever see. **** Vermeil was the Rams coach. Went to Junior High with his son, Dave, in HB, during the early '70's.
Super Bowl XXXIV (34)
Date: Jan 30, 2000
Location: Atlanta
Final Score: STL 23, TENN 16
Line: STL -7
Halftime Show: Phil Collins, Christine Aguilera
Cost of 30 second ad: $1.9mil
QB Stats: Warner 24-45-0 414 2td, McNair 22-26-0 214 0td
Other Notable Stats: T.Holt 7-109 1td, I.Bruce 6-162 1td, M.Faulk 10-17 and 5-90, E.George 28-95 2td and 2-35, S.McNair 8-64
Big Plays: Isaac Bruce 73 Yard TD, M.Faulk 52 yd catch
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Half
The two teams’ defenses seemed to dominate most of the first half. The Rams started the game out strong by taking the opening kickoff and marching to the Tennessee 17-yard line. But on third down, safety Blaine Bishop pressured quarterback Kurt Warner to throw an incomplete pass. Then the ensuing field goal attempt failed when punter/holder Mike Horan fumbled the snap. The Titans responded by moving the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line, aided with running back Eddie George's 32-yard reception. However, they also came up empty after kicker Al Del Greco missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
For the rest of the half, the Titans were forced to punt on all of their possessions. In contrast, the Rams were able to reach inside the Tennessee 20-yard line on all four of their remaining drives before halftime, but on each one, the Titans' defense forced St. Louis to settle for field goal attempts from kicker Jeff Wilkins, who was successful in making three of them, but missed one attempt from 34 yards. The Rams ended up leading at halftime, 9–0, but their scoring margin over the Titans seemed somewhat small, considering they drove into scoring range on every one of their first-half possessions and outgained Tennessee in total yards, 294–89.
Third Quarter
Both teams' offenses started to get going in the second half. The Titans took the opening kickoff of the 3rd quarter and drove 43 yards to the St. Louis 29-yard line. But Tennessee remained scoreless after defensive back Todd Lyght blocked Del Greco's 47-yard field goal attempt. After that, Warner converted a third down situation with a completion to Marshall Faulk, then on the next two plays threw a 31-yard strike to wide receiver Isaac Bruce and a 16-yard completion to tight end Ernie Conwell before finishing the 68-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt, giving St. Louis a 16–0 lead. On the completion to Conwell, Bishop combined to make the tackle, but suffered a spinal injury and had to leave the game. The game was delayed for several minutes while Bishop was being treated.
Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 34-yard line. From there, five runs by George good for 24 yards, three completions from quarterback Steve McNair to tight end Frank Wycheck for 15 yards and a run by McNair for two advanced the ball to the St. Louis 25-yard line. Then McNair scrambled 23 yards to the 2-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by George two plays later. The touchdown cut the Titans' deficit to 16–6 after McNair's pass to Wycheck on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
Fourth Quarter
The Titans' first score sparked them to rally. After forcing the Rams to punt on their ensuing possession, a pair of 21-yard completions from McNair to tight end Jackie Harris and wide receiver Isaac Byrd aided a 13-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by George's 2-yard touchdown run to make the score 16–13. The Tennessee defense then forced the Rams to a three-and-out, and Horan's 30-yard punt gave the Titans the ball back at their 47-yard line. The Titans' offense then drove only 28 yards on their ensuing possession, but it was close enough for Del Greco to attempt a 43-yard field goal. This time, Del Greco's kick was good, tying the score at 16–16 with just 2:12 left in the game. The 16-point deficit was the largest deficit to be erased in a Super Bowl and the first greater than 10 points. It was also the first time in any Super Bowl a team down double digits in the 4th quarter had tied the game.
Then on the Rams' first play of their ensuing drive, Warner threw a long pass that was caught at the Titans' 38-yard line by Bruce, who then ran it all the way into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown to give St. Louis a 23–16 lead. Likewise, in the 1951 NFL Championship Game, quarterback Norm Van Brocklin's 73-yard game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Tom Fears broke a 17–17 tie in the fourth quarter and gave the Rams a seven-point victory to win the NFL title. Warner's touchdown pass to Bruce was his only completion of the 4th quarter.
The Titans took over the ball at their own 12-yard line with 1:48 left in the game after committing a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff. McNair started out the drive with a pair of completions to Mason and Wycheck for gains of 9 and 7 yards to reach the 28-yard line. After an incomplete pass, defensive back Dré Bly's 15-yard face-mask penalty while tackling McNair on a 12-yard scramble gave the Titans a 1st down at the St. Louis 45-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis was penalized 5 yards for being offside, moving the ball to the 40-yard line with 59 seconds left. McNair ran for 2 yards, then threw a 7-yard completion to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. On the next play, Tennessee nearly lost the ball when Bly stepped in front of a pass intended for Mason, only to have it go right through his arms. Two plays later, with the Titans facing 3rd down and 5, McNair was hit by two Rams defenders, but he escaped and completed a 16-yard pass to Dyson to gain a 1st down at the Rams' 10-yard line. Tennessee then used up their final timeout with just six seconds left, giving them a chance for one last play to tie the game.
The final play The Tackle
The game's final play from the Rams' 10-yard line has gone down in NFL history as simply "The Tackle". Tennessee's plan was to use tight end Frank Wycheck as a decoy. Wycheck would run straight up the field on the right side, to lure linebacker Mike Jones away from receiver Kevin Dyson. Dyson would then slant left through the middle of the field. With Jones occupying Wycheck, quarterback Steve McNair would pass the ball to Dyson, who would be open from about five yards out for the score.
As the play began, everything appeared to go as planned. Jones ran with Wycheck up the field at the beginning of the play. However, as the pass was being delivered to Dyson, Jones, who was at the goal line, glanced over his left shoulder and noticed an open Dyson catching the ball. Jones switched directions and ran toward the Titans receiver. Dyson ran directly toward the end zone, but his legs were wrapped up by Jones with about two and a half yards left to the goal line.
Since Dyson was being tackled by the legs, there was still the possibility he could reach towards the end zone and get the ball across the goal line. Both players went into a rolling motion as Dyson outstretched his hand with the football towards the goal line in the hopes of scoring the touchdown. Though his reach was close, and the ball mere inches away from the end zone, it was still not enough to score. As the rolling motion came to an end, with Jones now on top of Dyson's legs, his shoulder touched the ground and, therefore, the game was over. Had Dyson scored and the extra point been converted, it would have been the first Super Bowl ever to go into overtime; it wasn't until 17 years later in Super Bowl LI that the first Super Bowl to go into overtime occurred. Alternatively, had Dyson scored, the Titans could have attempted a 2-point conversion for the outright win on the final play of the game; this happened for the first time two years later in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Considering the magnitude of the Super Bowl, and the wild game that preceded it, "The Tackle" is considered one of the greatest and most exciting game-ending plays in modern NFL history. The image of Dyson stretching the ball to the goal line with Jones wrapped around him has become a staple of NFL highlights. ESPN.com ranked "The Tackle" as the 35th greatest moment of the past 25 years in sports (as of 2007).[51] NFL.com ranked Jones's tackle of Dyson as the fourth greatest clutch moment in Super Bowl history. Fox Sports ranked The Tackle as the Greatest Clutch Play in Super Bowl History (as of 2007). Like Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, Jones was included on the NFL Network's "Top 10 One-Hit Wonders" list (Jones was #10, Brown was #3), although Jones also mirrored Brown in having a solid if unspectacular career outside of his Super Bowl heroics.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Budweiser. Rex the Wonder Dog imagines chasing a Budweiser truck, only to blindly leap headfirst onto a mini-van.
Top 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) This game is often referred to as the "Dot-com Super Bowl" due to the large amount of advertisements purchased by dot-com companies.
2) E-Trade ran a commercial featuring a chimpanzee dancing in an E-Trade T-shirt and the text "Well, we just wasted 2 million bucks". Lifeminders.com ran a commercial of plain typewritten text beginning with the line "This is the worst commercial on the Super Bowl. But it might be the best thing you see tonight." Pets.com famously paid millions for an advertisement featuring a sock puppet, though the company would collapse before the end of the year.
3) Little was expected of the Rams for 1999. Indeed, ESPN The Magazine's 1999 NFL preview predicted the Rams would be the worst team in the NFL, worse even than the Cleveland Browns, who had returned as an expansion team that year.
4) It was the last Super Bowl in which neither team had already won a Super Bowl.
My Comments: With 294 yards in the first half, the Rams should have come away with much more than nine points. And that nearly cost them the game. McNair led a great comeback to erase at 16-0 Rams lead, to tie it at 16-16. Bruce made a great catch and run for 73 yds with 1:54 to play to take the lead. And all of that set up the greatest non-scoring final play we will probably ever see. **** Vermeil was the Rams coach. Went to Junior High with his son, Dave, in HB, during the early '70's.
timschochet
Footballguy
Which junior high? If it was early 70s, then Vermeil was an assistant coach at UCLA- he became head coach in 1974.
Zegras11
Footballguy
Los Angeles Rams (1969) (special teams)
UCLA (1970) (OC)
Los Angeles Rams (1971–1973) (assistant). I was in 7th and 8th grade with him (71/72) at Gisler Jr High.
UCLA Bruins (1974–1975)
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Great effort on the SB write ups (or C & P as Getz refers to them) but I’m also reminded of how rare it has been to have a truly great game. Seems like 2/3rds of the most anticipated American sports event of the year hasn’t lived up to the hype & close to half have been blunder Bowie or snoozers.
But @Getzlaf15 has been All Pro all the way through.
But @Getzlaf15 has been All Pro all the way through.
Mister CIA
Footballguy
Without analyzing, I think the past 20 years have presented us with some great games. Lots of snoozers in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Agreed. As much as I never want to see NE win another game, all 9 of theirs have been (at least) exciting. Pittsburgh/Arizona was awesome. Ravens/Niners was another one that had all kinds of crazy stuff happen and went to the wire. I can only think of a couple of duds this century - Ravens/Giants, the 40-8 game (Den/Car?), and maybe the one the Colts won.
Zegras11
Footballguy
Thanks. All I wanted to do is try and match something close to your write ups. Thought the SB would be the one CAT where I give it that effort.
When I got done re-ranking my list for the 349th time, it kinda wound up like this. I asked myself if it was really a recency bias thing, and after looking at them carefully, my answer was no. Most of the better games have been played recently.
Doing the SB's has turned out way more fun than I though it would be. I'm really enjoying some of the unique story lines some of the games have had. And watching the tubes.
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Naw CIA nailed it, this millennium has been way better. Heck the first 20 years we thought DAL-PIT 1 & 2 + SF-CIN were good games. lololol
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 11
Super Bowl XXV (25)
Date: Han 27, 1991
Location: Tampa
Final Score: NYG 20, BUFF 19
Line: BUFF -7
Halftime Show: New Kids on the Block
Cost of 30 second ad: $800,000
QB Stats: Kelly 18-30-0 212yds 0 td, Hostetler 20-32-0 222yds 1td
Other Notable Stats: T.Thomas 15-135 1td and 5-55, A.Reed 8-62, O.Anderson 21-102 1td, M.Ingram 5-74
Big Plays: T.Thomas 31 yd TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Quarter
The contrast in strategies was evident during the first quarter. After forcing the Bills to punt on the opening drive of the game, the Giants consumed 6:15 off the clock by marching 58 yards in 10 plays to score on a 28-yard field goal from Matt Bahr. In that drive, New York ran five rushing plays and five passing plays. However, the Bills struck right back on their ensuing possession with a five-play, 66-yard drive that took 1:23 off the clock, including a tipped 61-yard completion from Kelly to wide receiver James Lofton that set up Scott Norwood's 23-yard field goal to tie the game 3–3.
After forcing the Giants to punt on their ensuing possession, the Bills' offensive strategy started to work to perfection. Kelly led the Bills on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that consumed 4:27 and moved the ball so effectively that the team never faced a third down. Kelly completed six consecutive passes (four to Andre Reed) for 62 yards, and running back Don Smith capped it off with a one yard touchdown run to give Buffalo a 10–3 lead early in the second quarter. Smith's touchdown run was his only carry of the game and the last carry of his career. Reed's 5 first quarter receptions were a Super Bowl record.
Second Quarter
After trading punts, the Giants were pinned at their own 7-yard line. On second down, defensive end Bruce Smith sacked quarterback Jeff Hostetler in the end zone for a safety, increasing the Bills' lead to 12–3. On the play, Smith had a chance to force a fumble, since Hostetler was holding the football with only his throwing hand. But to his credit, Hostetler held the ball away from Smith, helping to ensure that only two points would be surrendered.
Later on, the Giants got the ball at their own 13-yard line with 3:43 left in the second quarter. New York abandoned their long-drive strategy and employed a quick-strike attack of their own. It worked, as Hostetler led the Giants 87 yards and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephen Baker with just 25 seconds left in the half to cut New York's deficit to 12–10.
Third Quarter
The Giants opened the third quarter and resumed their original game strategy by driving 75 yards in 14 plays to score on Ottis Anderson's one yard touchdown run, giving the Giants a 17-12 lead. The drive consumed a then-Super Bowl record 9:29 (since surpassed by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII), and included four successful third down conversions. The highlight was a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Ingram on third down and 13 yards to go. Ingram caught a short pass and broke five Buffalo tackles to get the first down and keep the drive alive. By this point, the Bills offense had gone nearly two hours of real-time (counting the halftime show) since they last possessed the ball.
After forcing Buffalo to punt on its ensuing possession, New York drove to the Bills' 35-yard line. But on fourth and two, Smith tackled Anderson for a two yard loss. Buffalo then took over and stormed down the field, advancing 63 yards in just four plays and scoring on a 31-yard burst from running back Thurman Thomas on the first play of the fourth quarter, regaining the lead for Buffalo at 19–17. Thomas' touchdown run marked 1,000 points scored in Super Bowl history (1,001 with the extra point).
Fourth Quarter
However, before the Bills' defenders had a chance to catch their breath, they found themselves back on the field trying to contain another long Giants drive. This one went for 14 plays and 74 yards, half of which came off passes from Hostetler to tight end Mark Bavaro, and took another 7:32 off the clock. The Bills managed to halt the drive at their own 3-yard line when linebacker Cornelius Bennett broke up Hostetler's third down pass, but Bahr kicked his second field goal to give New York a 20–19 lead. On the Bills' ensuing possession, they could only advance to their own 41-yard line before having to punt, enabling the Giants to take more time off the clock. The Bills finally forced New York to punt and took the ball at their own 10-yard line after Sean Landeta's 38-yard kick with 2:16 remaining.
On the Bills' final possession, Kelly led the team down the field with a mix of scrambles, short passes, and Thomas runs, of which the last was for a healthy, and very critical, seven yards, managing to get the Bills to the Giants 29-yard line, just within field goal range with eight seconds to play. Norwood attempted a 47-yard game-winning field goal. Norwood's kick sailed wide right, less than a yard outside of the goalpost upright. To this day, this is the only potential Super Bowl winning field goal attempt in which the kicker's team would lose if the kick were missed. After Norwood's miss, the Giants ran out the clock.
WIDE RIGHT!
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Diet Pepsi. When Coca-Cola pulled a humorous ad in light of the First Iraqi war, Diet Pepsi scored big with Ray Charles and others (including Jerry Lewis, Tiny Tim, Vic Damone and Charo) singing their "You Got the Right One, Baby" jingle.
Top 5 NA
Interesting Story Lines:
1) A memorable performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Whitney Houston preceded the game. (Best ever IMO)
2) (ABC), who broadcast the game in the U.S., did not air the halftime show (headlined by American boy band New Kids on the Block) live. Instead, the network televised a special ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings on the progress of the war before airing the halftime show on tape delay after the game.
3) The Giants set a Super Bowl record-holding possession of the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds.
4) Buffalo crushed the Los Angeles Raiders 51–3, the most lopsided score in AFC Championship Game history.
5) The Bills were heavily favored to win Super Bowl XXV. Most experts expected that the Giants' defense would not be able to contain the Bills' turbo-charged no-huddle offense, which had scored 95 points in 2 playoff games. Many also questioned how effective the Giants' offense would be after failing to score a single touchdown in the NFC Championship Game. Also, in Week 15 of the regular season, the two teams met at Giants Stadium, where the Bills defeated the Giants 17–13.
6) The defensive game plan for the Giants, written by then-defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, has been included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
My comments: Not much to say here. Great, close game that gave us a break from the Gulf War news.
On my betting, loved the NYG +7 and the Under 40.5, due to the Giants Def and their run game. I parlayed both for $700, and thanks to the missed FG, hit the bet that paid $1820 (plus the $700). MISSSSSSSSSSSS ITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!
Super Bowl XXV (25)
Date: Han 27, 1991
Location: Tampa
Final Score: NYG 20, BUFF 19
Line: BUFF -7
Halftime Show: New Kids on the Block
Cost of 30 second ad: $800,000
QB Stats: Kelly 18-30-0 212yds 0 td, Hostetler 20-32-0 222yds 1td
Other Notable Stats: T.Thomas 15-135 1td and 5-55, A.Reed 8-62, O.Anderson 21-102 1td, M.Ingram 5-74
Big Plays: T.Thomas 31 yd TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Quarter
The contrast in strategies was evident during the first quarter. After forcing the Bills to punt on the opening drive of the game, the Giants consumed 6:15 off the clock by marching 58 yards in 10 plays to score on a 28-yard field goal from Matt Bahr. In that drive, New York ran five rushing plays and five passing plays. However, the Bills struck right back on their ensuing possession with a five-play, 66-yard drive that took 1:23 off the clock, including a tipped 61-yard completion from Kelly to wide receiver James Lofton that set up Scott Norwood's 23-yard field goal to tie the game 3–3.
After forcing the Giants to punt on their ensuing possession, the Bills' offensive strategy started to work to perfection. Kelly led the Bills on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that consumed 4:27 and moved the ball so effectively that the team never faced a third down. Kelly completed six consecutive passes (four to Andre Reed) for 62 yards, and running back Don Smith capped it off with a one yard touchdown run to give Buffalo a 10–3 lead early in the second quarter. Smith's touchdown run was his only carry of the game and the last carry of his career. Reed's 5 first quarter receptions were a Super Bowl record.
Second Quarter
After trading punts, the Giants were pinned at their own 7-yard line. On second down, defensive end Bruce Smith sacked quarterback Jeff Hostetler in the end zone for a safety, increasing the Bills' lead to 12–3. On the play, Smith had a chance to force a fumble, since Hostetler was holding the football with only his throwing hand. But to his credit, Hostetler held the ball away from Smith, helping to ensure that only two points would be surrendered.
Later on, the Giants got the ball at their own 13-yard line with 3:43 left in the second quarter. New York abandoned their long-drive strategy and employed a quick-strike attack of their own. It worked, as Hostetler led the Giants 87 yards and scored on a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Stephen Baker with just 25 seconds left in the half to cut New York's deficit to 12–10.
Third Quarter
The Giants opened the third quarter and resumed their original game strategy by driving 75 yards in 14 plays to score on Ottis Anderson's one yard touchdown run, giving the Giants a 17-12 lead. The drive consumed a then-Super Bowl record 9:29 (since surpassed by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII), and included four successful third down conversions. The highlight was a 14-yard pass to wide receiver Mark Ingram on third down and 13 yards to go. Ingram caught a short pass and broke five Buffalo tackles to get the first down and keep the drive alive. By this point, the Bills offense had gone nearly two hours of real-time (counting the halftime show) since they last possessed the ball.
After forcing Buffalo to punt on its ensuing possession, New York drove to the Bills' 35-yard line. But on fourth and two, Smith tackled Anderson for a two yard loss. Buffalo then took over and stormed down the field, advancing 63 yards in just four plays and scoring on a 31-yard burst from running back Thurman Thomas on the first play of the fourth quarter, regaining the lead for Buffalo at 19–17. Thomas' touchdown run marked 1,000 points scored in Super Bowl history (1,001 with the extra point).
Fourth Quarter
However, before the Bills' defenders had a chance to catch their breath, they found themselves back on the field trying to contain another long Giants drive. This one went for 14 plays and 74 yards, half of which came off passes from Hostetler to tight end Mark Bavaro, and took another 7:32 off the clock. The Bills managed to halt the drive at their own 3-yard line when linebacker Cornelius Bennett broke up Hostetler's third down pass, but Bahr kicked his second field goal to give New York a 20–19 lead. On the Bills' ensuing possession, they could only advance to their own 41-yard line before having to punt, enabling the Giants to take more time off the clock. The Bills finally forced New York to punt and took the ball at their own 10-yard line after Sean Landeta's 38-yard kick with 2:16 remaining.
On the Bills' final possession, Kelly led the team down the field with a mix of scrambles, short passes, and Thomas runs, of which the last was for a healthy, and very critical, seven yards, managing to get the Bills to the Giants 29-yard line, just within field goal range with eight seconds to play. Norwood attempted a 47-yard game-winning field goal. Norwood's kick sailed wide right, less than a yard outside of the goalpost upright. To this day, this is the only potential Super Bowl winning field goal attempt in which the kicker's team would lose if the kick were missed. After Norwood's miss, the Giants ran out the clock.
WIDE RIGHT!
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Diet Pepsi. When Coca-Cola pulled a humorous ad in light of the First Iraqi war, Diet Pepsi scored big with Ray Charles and others (including Jerry Lewis, Tiny Tim, Vic Damone and Charo) singing their "You Got the Right One, Baby" jingle.
Top 5 NA
Interesting Story Lines:
1) A memorable performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Whitney Houston preceded the game. (Best ever IMO)
2) (ABC), who broadcast the game in the U.S., did not air the halftime show (headlined by American boy band New Kids on the Block) live. Instead, the network televised a special ABC News report anchored by Peter Jennings on the progress of the war before airing the halftime show on tape delay after the game.
3) The Giants set a Super Bowl record-holding possession of the ball for 40 minutes and 33 seconds.
4) Buffalo crushed the Los Angeles Raiders 51–3, the most lopsided score in AFC Championship Game history.
5) The Bills were heavily favored to win Super Bowl XXV. Most experts expected that the Giants' defense would not be able to contain the Bills' turbo-charged no-huddle offense, which had scored 95 points in 2 playoff games. Many also questioned how effective the Giants' offense would be after failing to score a single touchdown in the NFC Championship Game. Also, in Week 15 of the regular season, the two teams met at Giants Stadium, where the Bills defeated the Giants 17–13.
6) The defensive game plan for the Giants, written by then-defensive coordinator Bill Belichick, has been included in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
My comments: Not much to say here. Great, close game that gave us a break from the Gulf War news.
On my betting, loved the NYG +7 and the Under 40.5, due to the Giants Def and their run game. I parlayed both for $700, and thanks to the missed FG, hit the bet that paid $1820 (plus the $700). MISSSSSSSSSSSS ITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!
Zegras11
Footballguy
Don't know which one is yours and don't tell me. Sure are antsy for someone that didn't judge
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Guess what he didn't nail? His Carmelo pick!
The Dallas/Pittsburgh SBs in the '70s were among the worst things that have ever happened to sports fandom. We're now on - what? - our 4th generation of bandwagon fans because of those two games.
I knew i couldn't compare to the great judges that we have so i didn't want to embarass myself. HahhaaDon't know which one is yours and don't tell me. Sure are antsy for someone that didn't judge
Plus I want to get back in the top spot....haha
Last edited by a moderator:
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
My brother (who still lives in west Michigan) defected from being a Lions fan to worship Staubach, Dorsett & Landry. Heathen.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
It's just friggin' gross. I could see someone in Africa or China or Alabama - folks out of step with American culture -latching onto a team in the one game a year they see. The rest have no excuse, just like all of those pink-hat Red Sox fans that sprang up after 2004.
joffer
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Tom Hagen
Footballguy
I’ve been trying to figure out how someone decided on Phil Collins and Christina Aguilera together.
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 12
Super Bowl XLII (42)
Date: Feb 3, 2008
Location: Glendale
Final Score: NYG 17, NE 14
Line: NE -12
Halftime Show: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (One of my fave SB shows ever)
Cost of 30 second ad: $2.7mil
QB Stats: EManning 19-34-1 255 2td, Brady 29-48-0 266 1td
Other Notable Stats: A.Toomer 6-84, W.Welker 11-103
Big Plays: Longest was 45 yd pass to TE K.Boss
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Quarter
After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with the longest drive in Super Bowl history, a 16-play, 63-yard march that consumed 9 minutes, 59 seconds and featured four third-down conversions, the most ever on a Super Bowl opening drive. But New England halted the drive at their own 14-yard line, forcing the Giants to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes that gave New York a 3–0 lead.
New England then responded with its own scoring drive, as Laurence Maroney returned the kickoff 43 yards to the Patriots' 44-yard line, after which he rushed twice for 15 yards. Quarterback Tom Brady then completed three passes for 23 yards, but after two incomplete passes, New England was faced with 3rd-and-10 on the Giants' 17-yard line. However, on that play, New York linebacker Antonio Pierce committed pass interference by striking the helmet of tight end Benjamin Watson in the end zone, giving New England 1st-and-goal at the 1.
Second Quarter
This set up a Maroney 1-yard touchdown run two plays later, the first play of the second quarter, for a 7–3 lead. The two teams each only had one drive in the entire opening quarter, a Super Bowl record. It was the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXIII in which both teams scored on their initial possession of the game. On the Giants first drive of the second quarter, on 3rd-and-7, wide receiver Amani Toomer caught in a deep pass from Manning along the left sideline while dragging his feet in-bounds for a 38-yard gain, moving the ball to the Patriots' 19-yard line. But three plays later, Manning threw a pass that bounced out of the arms of rookie wide receiver Steve Smith and into the hands of cornerback Ellis Hobbs for an interception.
The Patriots' ensuing drive resulted in a three-and-out as on 3rd-and-1 James Butler and Michael Strahan tackled Maroney for a two-yard loss and New England was forced to punt.
Then on the Giants' next drive, rookie running back Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled a hand-off from Manning and it looked as though Patriots' linebacker Pierre Woods had recovered the ball at the Giants' 30. But after the officials picked through the pile, it was determined that Bradshaw had made the recovery. The Giants maintained possession and wound up punting. New England's next drive ended with consecutive Giants' sacks, the first by linebacker Kawika Mitchell, the second by end Justin Tuck.
On the Giants' following drive, New York moved the ball to the New England 25, but linebacker Adalius Thomas sacked Manning and forced a fumble. Smith recovered the ball; however, Bradshaw was penalized for illegally batting the ball forward before the recovery. The penalty pushed the Giants out of field goal range, and following an incompletion, they were forced to punt.
After the punt, two 18-yard receptions by Moss and Donté Stallworth moved the ball to the Giants' 44. But with 22 seconds left before halftime, Brady fumbled while being sacked by Tuck and defensive end Osi Umenyiora recovered the ball. The game then went to halftime with the Patriots leading 7–3.
Third Quarter
On the first drive of the second half, New England had a 4th-and-2 and chose to punt. However, after the play had been run, Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick challenged that New York had too many players on the field and replay confirmed that was the case as Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn was unable to get to the sidelines as the ball was being snapped. Therefore, referee Mike Carey reversed the play, and the Giants were penalized 5 yards for having too many players on the field, giving the Patriots a first down. The Patriots then drove to the Giants' 25, but Strahan sacked Brady for a 6-yard loss on third down. Then on 4th-and-13, with the ball on the Giants' 31, Belichick decided against a long field goal attempt by Stephen Gostkowski (which would have been a 49-yard attempt, near Gostkowski's season long of 50 yards) and tried to pick up a first down instead. Brady's pass to Jabar Gaffney was incomplete as it went out of the back of the end zone and the Giants took over on downs.
Fourth Quarter
On the Giants' first drive of the fourth quarter, Manning completed a 45-yard pass to rookie tight end Kevin Boss. Following three runs by Bradshaw and a 17-yard reception by Smith on third down, Manning finished the 7-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to usually unheralded wide receiver David Tyree, giving New York a 10–7 lead with 11:05 left in the game.
After consecutive three-and-outs by the Patriots and Giants, New England got the ball at its own 20 with 7:54 to play. Brady then completed a 5-yard pass to Wes Welker and a 10-yard pass to Moss, followed by a 9-yard run by Maroney to give the Patriots a first down at their own 44. Brady followed with a 13-yard pass to Welker, a four-yard completion to Kevin Faulk, and then a 10-yard pass to Welker for a first down at the Giants' 29. After that, Brady found Moss for an 11-yard completion and Faulk for a 12-yard completion and New England now had 1st-and-goal from the Giants' 6. Following two incomplete passes, New York cornerback Corey Webster slipped while backing into coverage, leaving Moss wide open in the end zone where Brady found him for a touchdown to give New England a 14–10 lead with 2:42 left in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Raymond Ventrone leveled Domenik Hixon after a 14-yard return, giving New York the ball on their own 17 with 2:39 left and all three timeouts remaining. Following two receptions by Toomer for 20 yards, Brandon Jacobs kept the drive going with a crucial 2-yard run off guard on 4th-and-1. Manning picked up 5 yards with a scramble on the next play. Then on 2nd-and-5, Manning’s pass was high and behind intended wide receiver David Tyree, but fell harmlessly out of bounds as New England cornerback Asante Samuel could not corral the pass for the potential game-winning interception. Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck was quick to note Manning’s visible frustration at the apparent miscommunication with Tyree on the play, which stopped the clock with 1:15 remaining. On the next play, 3rd-and-5 from the New York 44-yard line, Manning found himself in trouble as the Patriots' pass rush got to him quickly after the snap. He eluded Adalius Thomas, who missed Manning despite having the clearest shot at him, and then broke free from the grasp of Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour, both of whom had the quarterback by the jersey but failed to hold him in the grasp. In what is considered to be among the greatest Super Bowl plays of all time, Manning then re-oriented himself and launched the ball deep down the middle of the field, where both Tyree and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison were in position to make a play on the ball. Tyree outjumped multiple-time Pro Bowler Harrison to secure the ball, and maintained possession by pinning the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground, clearly maintaining control for a gain of 32 yards and keeping the drive alive. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-11, Manning found a wide-open Smith for a 12-yard gain to the New England 13, who stepped out of bounds to stop the clock. On the next play, Patriots' cornerback Ellis Hobbs was beaten badly to the outside by the 6’6” Giants’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress on a "slant-and-go" route, allowing Manning more than enough room to find his big-bodied target for the touchdown. The score capped a 12-play, 83-yard drive to take the lead and prompted a roar from the fans in Glendale, then a mere 35 seconds from potentially witnessing the first 19-0 perfect season. Tynes’s extra point gave the Giants a 17–14 lead. Tyree catch and Burress TD
New England began its final possession on its own 26 with 29 seconds remaining and three timeouts. Following an errant pass attempt by Brady, Giants’ rookie defensive tackle Jay Alford sacked Brady for a loss of 10. The following play, a deep pass to Moss, was knocked away by cornerback Corey Webster, and Brady’s 4th-and-20 Hail Mary in Moss’s direction was batted down by safety Gibril Wilson, sealing the upset victory for New York. After the incompletion, it appeared that the officials would run out the clock, as it briefly read zero, before one second was re-added. Coaches, players, reporters, and fans crowded the field as if the game had ended. Belichick hugged Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin at midfield, then left for the locker room. This early departure was later criticized by some sportswriters, but other reporters defended Belichick by noting that he did not snub Coughlin (which would have been surprising anyway because the two coaches were friends from their days working together for Bill Parcells) and that the outcome of the game had been decided. The delay lasted 2 minutes 27 seconds before Manning kneeled out the final second and the Giants were officially crowned champions.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Budweiser. Paying tribute to the 1976 Academy Award Best Picture Rocky, a Clydesdale is inspired by a rather unusual personal trainer to become a member of the hitch team for the iconic horse-drawn wagon: its dalmatian mascot.
Top 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) The Patriots entered the game as 12-point favorites after becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the only one since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season schedule in 1978
My Comments: Until the last quarter, this game was very low scoring and I remember it to be kinda boring. The fourth quarter made up for that, and it was great to see the Pats lose.
The Top 5 starts here, and I found them all very close. Had to go over them several times, but the first half put this game here...
Super Bowl XLII (42)
Date: Feb 3, 2008
Location: Glendale
Final Score: NYG 17, NE 14
Line: NE -12
Halftime Show: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (One of my fave SB shows ever)
Cost of 30 second ad: $2.7mil
QB Stats: EManning 19-34-1 255 2td, Brady 29-48-0 266 1td
Other Notable Stats: A.Toomer 6-84, W.Welker 11-103
Big Plays: Longest was 45 yd pass to TE K.Boss
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First Quarter
After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with the longest drive in Super Bowl history, a 16-play, 63-yard march that consumed 9 minutes, 59 seconds and featured four third-down conversions, the most ever on a Super Bowl opening drive. But New England halted the drive at their own 14-yard line, forcing the Giants to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes that gave New York a 3–0 lead.
New England then responded with its own scoring drive, as Laurence Maroney returned the kickoff 43 yards to the Patriots' 44-yard line, after which he rushed twice for 15 yards. Quarterback Tom Brady then completed three passes for 23 yards, but after two incomplete passes, New England was faced with 3rd-and-10 on the Giants' 17-yard line. However, on that play, New York linebacker Antonio Pierce committed pass interference by striking the helmet of tight end Benjamin Watson in the end zone, giving New England 1st-and-goal at the 1.
Second Quarter
This set up a Maroney 1-yard touchdown run two plays later, the first play of the second quarter, for a 7–3 lead. The two teams each only had one drive in the entire opening quarter, a Super Bowl record. It was the first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXIII in which both teams scored on their initial possession of the game. On the Giants first drive of the second quarter, on 3rd-and-7, wide receiver Amani Toomer caught in a deep pass from Manning along the left sideline while dragging his feet in-bounds for a 38-yard gain, moving the ball to the Patriots' 19-yard line. But three plays later, Manning threw a pass that bounced out of the arms of rookie wide receiver Steve Smith and into the hands of cornerback Ellis Hobbs for an interception.
The Patriots' ensuing drive resulted in a three-and-out as on 3rd-and-1 James Butler and Michael Strahan tackled Maroney for a two-yard loss and New England was forced to punt.
Then on the Giants' next drive, rookie running back Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled a hand-off from Manning and it looked as though Patriots' linebacker Pierre Woods had recovered the ball at the Giants' 30. But after the officials picked through the pile, it was determined that Bradshaw had made the recovery. The Giants maintained possession and wound up punting. New England's next drive ended with consecutive Giants' sacks, the first by linebacker Kawika Mitchell, the second by end Justin Tuck.
On the Giants' following drive, New York moved the ball to the New England 25, but linebacker Adalius Thomas sacked Manning and forced a fumble. Smith recovered the ball; however, Bradshaw was penalized for illegally batting the ball forward before the recovery. The penalty pushed the Giants out of field goal range, and following an incompletion, they were forced to punt.
After the punt, two 18-yard receptions by Moss and Donté Stallworth moved the ball to the Giants' 44. But with 22 seconds left before halftime, Brady fumbled while being sacked by Tuck and defensive end Osi Umenyiora recovered the ball. The game then went to halftime with the Patriots leading 7–3.
Third Quarter
On the first drive of the second half, New England had a 4th-and-2 and chose to punt. However, after the play had been run, Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick challenged that New York had too many players on the field and replay confirmed that was the case as Giants linebacker Chase Blackburn was unable to get to the sidelines as the ball was being snapped. Therefore, referee Mike Carey reversed the play, and the Giants were penalized 5 yards for having too many players on the field, giving the Patriots a first down. The Patriots then drove to the Giants' 25, but Strahan sacked Brady for a 6-yard loss on third down. Then on 4th-and-13, with the ball on the Giants' 31, Belichick decided against a long field goal attempt by Stephen Gostkowski (which would have been a 49-yard attempt, near Gostkowski's season long of 50 yards) and tried to pick up a first down instead. Brady's pass to Jabar Gaffney was incomplete as it went out of the back of the end zone and the Giants took over on downs.
Fourth Quarter
On the Giants' first drive of the fourth quarter, Manning completed a 45-yard pass to rookie tight end Kevin Boss. Following three runs by Bradshaw and a 17-yard reception by Smith on third down, Manning finished the 7-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to usually unheralded wide receiver David Tyree, giving New York a 10–7 lead with 11:05 left in the game.
After consecutive three-and-outs by the Patriots and Giants, New England got the ball at its own 20 with 7:54 to play. Brady then completed a 5-yard pass to Wes Welker and a 10-yard pass to Moss, followed by a 9-yard run by Maroney to give the Patriots a first down at their own 44. Brady followed with a 13-yard pass to Welker, a four-yard completion to Kevin Faulk, and then a 10-yard pass to Welker for a first down at the Giants' 29. After that, Brady found Moss for an 11-yard completion and Faulk for a 12-yard completion and New England now had 1st-and-goal from the Giants' 6. Following two incomplete passes, New York cornerback Corey Webster slipped while backing into coverage, leaving Moss wide open in the end zone where Brady found him for a touchdown to give New England a 14–10 lead with 2:42 left in the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Raymond Ventrone leveled Domenik Hixon after a 14-yard return, giving New York the ball on their own 17 with 2:39 left and all three timeouts remaining. Following two receptions by Toomer for 20 yards, Brandon Jacobs kept the drive going with a crucial 2-yard run off guard on 4th-and-1. Manning picked up 5 yards with a scramble on the next play. Then on 2nd-and-5, Manning’s pass was high and behind intended wide receiver David Tyree, but fell harmlessly out of bounds as New England cornerback Asante Samuel could not corral the pass for the potential game-winning interception. Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck was quick to note Manning’s visible frustration at the apparent miscommunication with Tyree on the play, which stopped the clock with 1:15 remaining. On the next play, 3rd-and-5 from the New York 44-yard line, Manning found himself in trouble as the Patriots' pass rush got to him quickly after the snap. He eluded Adalius Thomas, who missed Manning despite having the clearest shot at him, and then broke free from the grasp of Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour, both of whom had the quarterback by the jersey but failed to hold him in the grasp. In what is considered to be among the greatest Super Bowl plays of all time, Manning then re-oriented himself and launched the ball deep down the middle of the field, where both Tyree and Patriots safety Rodney Harrison were in position to make a play on the ball. Tyree outjumped multiple-time Pro Bowler Harrison to secure the ball, and maintained possession by pinning the ball against his helmet as he fell to the ground, clearly maintaining control for a gain of 32 yards and keeping the drive alive. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-11, Manning found a wide-open Smith for a 12-yard gain to the New England 13, who stepped out of bounds to stop the clock. On the next play, Patriots' cornerback Ellis Hobbs was beaten badly to the outside by the 6’6” Giants’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress on a "slant-and-go" route, allowing Manning more than enough room to find his big-bodied target for the touchdown. The score capped a 12-play, 83-yard drive to take the lead and prompted a roar from the fans in Glendale, then a mere 35 seconds from potentially witnessing the first 19-0 perfect season. Tynes’s extra point gave the Giants a 17–14 lead. Tyree catch and Burress TD
New England began its final possession on its own 26 with 29 seconds remaining and three timeouts. Following an errant pass attempt by Brady, Giants’ rookie defensive tackle Jay Alford sacked Brady for a loss of 10. The following play, a deep pass to Moss, was knocked away by cornerback Corey Webster, and Brady’s 4th-and-20 Hail Mary in Moss’s direction was batted down by safety Gibril Wilson, sealing the upset victory for New York. After the incompletion, it appeared that the officials would run out the clock, as it briefly read zero, before one second was re-added. Coaches, players, reporters, and fans crowded the field as if the game had ended. Belichick hugged Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin at midfield, then left for the locker room. This early departure was later criticized by some sportswriters, but other reporters defended Belichick by noting that he did not snub Coughlin (which would have been surprising anyway because the two coaches were friends from their days working together for Bill Parcells) and that the outcome of the game had been decided. The delay lasted 2 minutes 27 seconds before Manning kneeled out the final second and the Giants were officially crowned champions.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Budweiser. Paying tribute to the 1976 Academy Award Best Picture Rocky, a Clydesdale is inspired by a rather unusual personal trainer to become a member of the hitch team for the iconic horse-drawn wagon: its dalmatian mascot.
Top 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) The Patriots entered the game as 12-point favorites after becoming the first team to complete a perfect regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the only one since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season schedule in 1978
My Comments: Until the last quarter, this game was very low scoring and I remember it to be kinda boring. The fourth quarter made up for that, and it was great to see the Pats lose.
The Top 5 starts here, and I found them all very close. Had to go over them several times, but the first half put this game here...
Zegras11
Footballguy
These last four are all my favorites. I think I had each one #1 at one point. But I'm very comfortable with where I have them after seeing them there for a few days now.
PTS: 13
Super Bowl XLIII (43)
Date: Feb 1, 2009
Location: Tampa
Final Score: PITT 27, ARZ 23
Line: PITT -7
Halftime Show: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Cost of 30 second ad: $3mil
QB Stats: Roethlisberger 21-30-1 256 1td, Warner 31-43-1 377 1td
Other Notable Stats: S.Holmes 9-131 1td, L.Fitzgerald 7-127 2td, Boldin 8-84
Big Plays: Fitzgerald 64yd TD pass, J.Harrison 100yd INT TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First quarter
Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and moved down the field on a 71-yard scoring drive, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completing a 38-yard pass to wide receiver Hines Ward and a 21-yard strike to Heath Miller, putting the ball at the Arizona 1-yard line. On third down, Roethlisberger appeared to score on a quarterback scramble, but it was overruled by a replay challenge, which determined that he was down before the ball crossed the goal line. Rather than make another attempt at a touchdown, Pittsburgh settled for a Jeff Reed 18-yard field goal to take the 3–0 lead. The Steelers quickly forced an Arizona punt and then drove back down the field for what would turn into more points. On the first play of their drive, Roethlisberger completed a 25-yard pass to Santonio Holmes.
Second quarter
Following three more completions to Miller for 26 yards and another one to Holmes for 7, reserve running back Gary Russell went into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 10–0 on the second play of the second quarter. They became the first team to score on its first two drives since the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. On defense, Pittsburgh held Arizona to just one drive and one first down in the first quarter, while gaining 135 yards.
The Cardinals got going for the first time midway through the second quarter as a 45-yard completion from Kurt Warner to Anquan Boldin moved the ball to the Steelers' 1-yard line. On the next play, Warner nearly fell over after taking the snap, but he regained his balance and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Patrick. After an exchange of punts, Roethlisberger threw a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by linebacker Karlos Dansby at the Steelers 34-yard line with 2:46 left in the half. Seven plays later, the Cardinals drove to a first down on the Pittsburgh 1-yard line. But with 18 seconds left, Warner's pass intended for Boldin was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker James Harrison, who then took off down the sideline for the then-longest play in Super Bowl history (having since been passed by Jacoby Jones' 108-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XLVII), a 100-yard return for a touchdown, increasing the Steelers' lead to 17–7 at halftime. Harrison faked a blitz and quietly moved into coverage to pick off Warner's pass. A booth review was called to verify that Harrison had broken the plane, as he was tackled at the goal line, and the ruling stood.
For me, this is one of the best plays ever in the SB. Mainly because the clock and he had to score. Harrision 100 yd INT TD
Third quarter
After forcing a punt, the Steelers started off the third quarter with another long scoring drive. Aided by three personal foul penalties against Arizona, they moved the ball 79 yards in 14 plays and took 8:39 off the clock. However, they were unable to get into the end zone, despite two first downs inside the Cardinals 10 (a penalty against Arizona on a Steelers field goal attempt gave them another chance), and they had to settle for another Reed field goal to give them a 13-point lead, 20–7.
Fourth quarter
After a few more punts, Warner led the Cardinals down the field on an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive that took 3:57 off the clock, utilizing a no huddle offense. With 7:33 left in the game, Warner threw a fade pass to Fitzgerald, who made a leaping catch through tight coverage by Ike Taylor for a touchdown, making the score 20–14.
Later on, Ben Graham's 34-yard punt pinned the Steelers back at their own 1-yard line. Two plays later on third down and 10, Roethlisberger threw a 20-yard pass to Holmes, but center Justin Hartwig was called for holding in the end zone, which not only nullified the catch, but gave the Cardinals a safety, raising the score to 20–16. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin later stated that losing the two points didn't faze him, as it did not change how the Steelers called plays for the rest of the game on either defense or offense. Taking over on their own 36 after the free kick, Arizona took two plays to score, as Warner threw a pass to Fitzgerald on a post route. Fitzgerald caught the ball without breaking stride and took off down the middle of the field past the Steelers secondary for a 64-yard touchdown reception, giving Arizona their first lead of the game, 23–20.
(In 4:56, Cards wiped out 20-7 PITT lead with 16 points with 2:37 left in game) Fitzgerald 64 yd TD to take lead
Pittsburgh got the ball back on their own 22-yard line with 2:37 left in the game and two timeouts remaining. On their first play, a holding penalty pushed them back 10 yards. Roethlisberger then completed a pass to Holmes for 14 yards. After an incompletion, Roethlisberger threw it to Holmes again for a first down. An 11-yard reception by Nate Washington followed, and a 4-yard run by Roethlisberger forced the Steelers to burn their first timeout. On the very next play, he completed a pass to Holmes, who took it 40 yards to the Cardinals' 6-yard line after safety Aaron Francisco fell down. Two plays later, Roethlisberger found Mewelde Moore covered in the flat, then Ward covered. He looked and then threw to Holmes, who ran a flag route in the right corner. Holmes caught the pass in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown, managing to land with his toes inbounds before falling out of bounds. "My feet never left the ground," said Holmes. "All I did was extend my arms and use my toes as an extension to catch up to the ball." After a booth review, the touchdown pass stood. Reed's ensuing extra point put the Steelers in front 27–23 with 35 seconds remaining. Following the ensuing kickoff, Warner completed a 20-yard pass to Fitzgerald and a 13-yarder to J. J. Arrington, moving the ball to the Steelers 44. With 15 seconds left, Warner prepared to attempt a Hail Mary pass, but linebacker LaMarr Woodley forced a fumble while sacking Warner. Defensive end Brett Keisel recovered the fumble, giving the ball back to Pittsburgh with five seconds left. Many viewers assumed that the play had not been reviewed for a possible incomplete pass, but NFL Head of Officiating Mike Pereira later explained that it actually was reviewed, unnoticed by the public: "We confirmed it was a fumble. The replay assistant in the replay booth saw it was clearly a fumble. The ball got knocked loose and was rolling in his hand before it started forward. He has to have total control." It was the first and only Super Bowl in which Warner was involved not to be decided on the final play of the game. Roethlisberger's ensuing kneeldown secured the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl victory, surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers to set a new NFL record for most Super Bowl wins by a team.
(Ben's throw and Holmes TD catch is one of the best SB players ever IMO). Holmes TD catch
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Doritos. In the first ever fan-generated commercial to claim top ranking, two men use a snow globe to grant their wishes. One throws it at (and breaks the glass front panel of) a vending machine and gets his wish for "free" Doritos. The other wishes for a promotion, but accidentally throws it at his boss's groin. The ad makers, Joe and David Herbert of Batesville, Indiana, won US$1 million in a promotion sponsored by Doritos owner PepsiCo.
TOP 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) With this victory, the Steelers became the first team to win six Super Bowl championships
2) The Cardinals entered the game seeking their first NFL title since 1947, the longest championship drought in the league.
3) In Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona and Pittsburgh combined for the fewest rushing attempts (38) and the fewest rushing yards (91) in Super Bowl history
My Comments: I really loved this game. Like most of America, we were rooting for the Cards to win. The Harrision INT was an incredible play right before half. Fitzgerald's TD to take the lead was awesome and then Holmes' catch was amazing also. Just a great, memorable game from both sides.
PTS: 13
Super Bowl XLIII (43)
Date: Feb 1, 2009
Location: Tampa
Final Score: PITT 27, ARZ 23
Line: PITT -7
Halftime Show: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Cost of 30 second ad: $3mil
QB Stats: Roethlisberger 21-30-1 256 1td, Warner 31-43-1 377 1td
Other Notable Stats: S.Holmes 9-131 1td, L.Fitzgerald 7-127 2td, Boldin 8-84
Big Plays: Fitzgerald 64yd TD pass, J.Harrison 100yd INT TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First quarter
Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and moved down the field on a 71-yard scoring drive, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completing a 38-yard pass to wide receiver Hines Ward and a 21-yard strike to Heath Miller, putting the ball at the Arizona 1-yard line. On third down, Roethlisberger appeared to score on a quarterback scramble, but it was overruled by a replay challenge, which determined that he was down before the ball crossed the goal line. Rather than make another attempt at a touchdown, Pittsburgh settled for a Jeff Reed 18-yard field goal to take the 3–0 lead. The Steelers quickly forced an Arizona punt and then drove back down the field for what would turn into more points. On the first play of their drive, Roethlisberger completed a 25-yard pass to Santonio Holmes.
Second quarter
Following three more completions to Miller for 26 yards and another one to Holmes for 7, reserve running back Gary Russell went into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 10–0 on the second play of the second quarter. They became the first team to score on its first two drives since the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. On defense, Pittsburgh held Arizona to just one drive and one first down in the first quarter, while gaining 135 yards.
The Cardinals got going for the first time midway through the second quarter as a 45-yard completion from Kurt Warner to Anquan Boldin moved the ball to the Steelers' 1-yard line. On the next play, Warner nearly fell over after taking the snap, but he regained his balance and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Patrick. After an exchange of punts, Roethlisberger threw a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by linebacker Karlos Dansby at the Steelers 34-yard line with 2:46 left in the half. Seven plays later, the Cardinals drove to a first down on the Pittsburgh 1-yard line. But with 18 seconds left, Warner's pass intended for Boldin was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker James Harrison, who then took off down the sideline for the then-longest play in Super Bowl history (having since been passed by Jacoby Jones' 108-yard kickoff return in Super Bowl XLVII), a 100-yard return for a touchdown, increasing the Steelers' lead to 17–7 at halftime. Harrison faked a blitz and quietly moved into coverage to pick off Warner's pass. A booth review was called to verify that Harrison had broken the plane, as he was tackled at the goal line, and the ruling stood.
For me, this is one of the best plays ever in the SB. Mainly because the clock and he had to score. Harrision 100 yd INT TD
Third quarter
After forcing a punt, the Steelers started off the third quarter with another long scoring drive. Aided by three personal foul penalties against Arizona, they moved the ball 79 yards in 14 plays and took 8:39 off the clock. However, they were unable to get into the end zone, despite two first downs inside the Cardinals 10 (a penalty against Arizona on a Steelers field goal attempt gave them another chance), and they had to settle for another Reed field goal to give them a 13-point lead, 20–7.
Fourth quarter
After a few more punts, Warner led the Cardinals down the field on an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive that took 3:57 off the clock, utilizing a no huddle offense. With 7:33 left in the game, Warner threw a fade pass to Fitzgerald, who made a leaping catch through tight coverage by Ike Taylor for a touchdown, making the score 20–14.
Later on, Ben Graham's 34-yard punt pinned the Steelers back at their own 1-yard line. Two plays later on third down and 10, Roethlisberger threw a 20-yard pass to Holmes, but center Justin Hartwig was called for holding in the end zone, which not only nullified the catch, but gave the Cardinals a safety, raising the score to 20–16. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin later stated that losing the two points didn't faze him, as it did not change how the Steelers called plays for the rest of the game on either defense or offense. Taking over on their own 36 after the free kick, Arizona took two plays to score, as Warner threw a pass to Fitzgerald on a post route. Fitzgerald caught the ball without breaking stride and took off down the middle of the field past the Steelers secondary for a 64-yard touchdown reception, giving Arizona their first lead of the game, 23–20.
(In 4:56, Cards wiped out 20-7 PITT lead with 16 points with 2:37 left in game) Fitzgerald 64 yd TD to take lead
Pittsburgh got the ball back on their own 22-yard line with 2:37 left in the game and two timeouts remaining. On their first play, a holding penalty pushed them back 10 yards. Roethlisberger then completed a pass to Holmes for 14 yards. After an incompletion, Roethlisberger threw it to Holmes again for a first down. An 11-yard reception by Nate Washington followed, and a 4-yard run by Roethlisberger forced the Steelers to burn their first timeout. On the very next play, he completed a pass to Holmes, who took it 40 yards to the Cardinals' 6-yard line after safety Aaron Francisco fell down. Two plays later, Roethlisberger found Mewelde Moore covered in the flat, then Ward covered. He looked and then threw to Holmes, who ran a flag route in the right corner. Holmes caught the pass in the back corner of the end zone for a touchdown, managing to land with his toes inbounds before falling out of bounds. "My feet never left the ground," said Holmes. "All I did was extend my arms and use my toes as an extension to catch up to the ball." After a booth review, the touchdown pass stood. Reed's ensuing extra point put the Steelers in front 27–23 with 35 seconds remaining. Following the ensuing kickoff, Warner completed a 20-yard pass to Fitzgerald and a 13-yarder to J. J. Arrington, moving the ball to the Steelers 44. With 15 seconds left, Warner prepared to attempt a Hail Mary pass, but linebacker LaMarr Woodley forced a fumble while sacking Warner. Defensive end Brett Keisel recovered the fumble, giving the ball back to Pittsburgh with five seconds left. Many viewers assumed that the play had not been reviewed for a possible incomplete pass, but NFL Head of Officiating Mike Pereira later explained that it actually was reviewed, unnoticed by the public: "We confirmed it was a fumble. The replay assistant in the replay booth saw it was clearly a fumble. The ball got knocked loose and was rolling in his hand before it started forward. He has to have total control." It was the first and only Super Bowl in which Warner was involved not to be decided on the final play of the game. Roethlisberger's ensuing kneeldown secured the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl victory, surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers to set a new NFL record for most Super Bowl wins by a team.
(Ben's throw and Holmes TD catch is one of the best SB players ever IMO). Holmes TD catch
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Doritos. In the first ever fan-generated commercial to claim top ranking, two men use a snow globe to grant their wishes. One throws it at (and breaks the glass front panel of) a vending machine and gets his wish for "free" Doritos. The other wishes for a promotion, but accidentally throws it at his boss's groin. The ad makers, Joe and David Herbert of Batesville, Indiana, won US$1 million in a promotion sponsored by Doritos owner PepsiCo.
TOP 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) With this victory, the Steelers became the first team to win six Super Bowl championships
2) The Cardinals entered the game seeking their first NFL title since 1947, the longest championship drought in the league.
3) In Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona and Pittsburgh combined for the fewest rushing attempts (38) and the fewest rushing yards (91) in Super Bowl history
My Comments: I really loved this game. Like most of America, we were rooting for the Cards to win. The Harrision INT was an incredible play right before half. Fitzgerald's TD to take the lead was awesome and then Holmes' catch was amazing also. Just a great, memorable game from both sides.
timschochet
Footballguy
My pick is in the top 3 of this category. I hate that I picked it. I think it might be my least favorite NFL game ever.
Zow
Footballguy
Zow
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 14
Super Bowl LII (52)
Date: Feb 4, 2018
Location: Minneapolis
Final Score: PHIL 41, NE 33
Line: NE -5,5
Halftime Show: Justin Timberlake
Cost of 30 second ad: $5mil
QB Stats: Foles 28-43-1 373 3td, Brady 28-48-0 505 3rd
Other Notable Stats: Blount 14-90 1td, H.Agholor 9-84, C.Clement 4-100 1td, A.Jeffrey 3-73 1td, Gronkowski 9-116 2td, Amendola 8-152, Hogan 6-128 1td
Big Plays: Foles TD Catch. Clement 55yd rec, Amendola 50 yd rec
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
The New England Patriots won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Patriots kicked off to the Eagles, who opened the game with a 14-play, 67-yard drive that took 7:05 off the clock and resulted in a 25-yard Jake Elliott field goal, giving the Eagles a 3–0 lead. The drive was controlled by the arm of Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who completed 6 of 9 passes to five different receivers for 61 yards, with a few short runs by LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi mixed in. Foles also made two critical completions on third down plays, hitting Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard gain on third-and-4, and later found Torrey Smith for a 15-yard completion on third-and-12. The Patriots responded with a drive of their own, almost with exactly the same results; quarterback Tom Brady completed 6 of 8 passes for 60 yards to four different receivers, the longest a 28-yard strike to Chris Hogan. The drive stalled out on the Eagles 8-yard line, where they had to settle for Stephen Gostkowski's 26-yard field goal, which tied the game at 3–3. The game's first touchdown was scored by the Eagles on the next drive, taking only three plays: a short pass from Foles to Nelson Agholor, a 36-yard run up the middle by Blount, and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Foles to Jeffery to the left side of the field. The ensuing extra point attempt from Elliott was missed wide right, which made the score 9–3 in favor of the Eagles. The Patriots responded by advancing the ball to the Philadelphia 11-yard line on their next drive, which was set up by a 50-yard completion from Brady to Danny Amendola, where the quarter ended.
With the second quarter under way, the Patriots came away empty-handed on the drive, as Gostkowski missed a 26-yard field goal attempt after holder Ryan Allen mishandled the snap. New England's defense forced the game's only punt on the next drive. On the following drive, Brady completed a 23-yard pass to Brandin Cooks, but a hard hit by defender Malcolm Jenkins knocked the receiver out of the game with a concussion. On third down from near mid-field, the Patriots attempted a trick play that involved two handoffs and a pass downfield to Tom Brady. Brady was open, but dropped the throw from Amendola.
They went for it on fourth down, and a pass intended for tight end Rob Gronkowski fell incomplete, giving the Eagles the ball on their own 35-yard line on a turnover-on-downs. The Eagles capitalized on a drive featuring two key completions, a 19-yard catch by Zach Ertz on third-and-7, and a 22-yard reception by Jeffery on the Patriots 21-yard line. On the next play, a 21-yard rumble by Blount gave the Eagles another touchdown. They attempted a two-point conversion, which failed, making the score 15–3.
The Patriots quickly struck back, as Brady completed a 46-yard pass to Rex Burkhead on the first play after the kickoff. But the team could only gain two more yards, resulting in Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal that got the score to 15–6. The Eagles got the ball back with 7:24 on the clock and looked poised to score another touchdown after a 26-yard run by Ajayi gave them a first down on the Patriots 43-yard line. But on the next play, Foles threw a pass that bounced off Jeffery as he tried to make a one-handed catch, and went into the hands of Patriots safety Duron Harmon for an interception, which he returned eight yards to the 10-yard line.
The Patriots took advantage of the turnover with a seven-play, 90-yard drive, featuring a 43-yard completion from Brady to Hogan. On the next play, James White scored with a 26-yard touchdown run. Gostkowski missed the ensuing extra point, but the score was now 15–12. Eagles running back Kenjon Barner returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to his own 30-yard line as time ran down to the two-minute warning. Two plays later, on third-and-3, Foles completed a short pass to running back Corey Clement, who took off for a 55-yard gain to the New England 8-yard line. Clement then ran the ball six yards to the two-yard line on the next play.
Two plays later, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line with 38 seconds left on the clock. Deciding to go for the touchdown, they attempted a similar trick play to the one that had failed for the Patriots earlier, in what would become the most memorable play of the game. As Foles stepped up to the running back position, Clement took a direct snap and pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw the ball perfectly to Foles, who was wide open in the right side of the end zone. Foles caught the ball, making him the first quarterback ever to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and the ensuing extra point was good, giving the Eagles a 22–12 lead, which was taken into the locker room after a short drive by the Patriots. The play came to be known as the Philly Special.
The first half resulted in numerous Super Bowl records from both teams, including most total yards combined (673). This was also the first time two quarterbacks had thrown for over 200 yards in the first half of a Super Bowl, with Brady throwing for 276 yards and Foles 215.
Second half
The Patriots received the second-half kickoff and Brady led New England 75 yards in eight plays. Gronkowski, who caught only one pass for nine yards in the first half, caught five passes for 68 yards on the drive, the last a 5-yard touchdown reception to make the score 22–19.
The Eagles responded by moving the ball 85 yards in 11 plays on a drive that consumed less than five minutes and featured three critical third-down conversions by Foles. The first was a 17-yard pass to Agholor on third-and-6 from the Eagles 19-yard line. Later in the drive, he threw a 14-yard completion to Ertz on third-and-1 from the New England 40-yard line. Finally, he finished the possession with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Clement on third-and-6. The touchdown was upheld upon replay review, as officials confirmed that Clement kept both feet inbounds and controlled the ball. An Elliott extra point brought the score to 29–19 in the Eagles' favor.
Brady responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, completing all three of his passes for 61 yards, the last one a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hogan that brought the score to 29–26. The Eagles followed with an 8-play, 51-yard drive featuring a 24-yard completion from Foles to Agholor on the first play. By the end of the third quarter, the team had made it to the New England 16-yard line.
The Eagles opened the fourth quarter scoring with a Jake Elliott field goal to bring the score to 32–26.
Brady then came back with another 75-yard drive featuring a 30-yard reception by Amendola and ending with a four-yard pass to Gronkowski, his second touchdown of the game, giving the Patriots their first lead of the game with the score at 33–32.
On their next drive, the Eagles faced third-and-6 after two plays, but were able to keep the ball with a 7-yard catch by Ertz. Eventually they faced a fourth-and-1 on their own 45-yard line with 5:39 left in the game. Deciding to go for the conversion rather than punt, Foles completed a 2-yard pass to Ertz that kept the drive alive. Then after a 1-yard Blount run, Foles picked up three consecutive first downs with three passes to Agholor for gains of 10, 18, and 10 yards, respectively, moving the ball to the New England 14-yard line. Following a 3-yard run by Ajayi, Foles threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ertz with 2:21 remaining in the game. The play was held up on review; Ertz lost the ball after touching the ground in the end zone, but it was determined that he established himself as a runner and maintained control of the ball as he broke the plane of the goal line. A failed two-point conversion left the Eagles with a 38–33 lead. (4th and 1 call on own 45 was so ballsy)
On the Patriots' next drive, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham stripped the ball from Brady on the drive's second play for the game's only sack. Eagles rookie defensive end Derek Barnett recovered the ball, allowing the Eagles to run the clock down to 1:05 and force New England to use all their remaining timeouts. Elliott then kicked a 46-yard field goal, putting Philadelphia ahead by eight points, 41–33.
New England needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game and send it into overtime. After nine plays (one of them a 13-yard catch by Amendola on fourth-and-10), Brady reached the 49-yard line, and with only nine seconds remaining, he threw a Hail Mary pass to the end zone as time expired. The pass was incomplete, and the Eagles won their first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, and their first league championship since 1960, ending the third-longest active championship drought in the NFL at 57 years.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Amazon.com. Alexa has lost her voice, and celebrities like Anthony Hopkins, Rebel Wilson and Cardi B help out. The ad features Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. It barely beat out an NFL ad starring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. that parodied the movie Dirty Dancing.
Top 10 Ads
Interesting Story Lines:
1) Several records were set during Super Bowl LII, including most yards gained in an NFL game by both teams combined (1,151), fewest punts from both teams in a Super Bowl (one), and most points scored by a Super Bowl losing team (33).
2) Two Eagles, running back LeGarrette Blount and defensive lineman Chris Long, had been Patriots in 2017's Super Bowl LI.
3) To increase security around U.S. Bank Stadium, the stadium's light rail station was shut down for 48 hours before the game, and a nearby homeless shelter was temporarily moved beyond the security perimeter.[49] The Blue Line of the light rail system was only open to ticketholders and passengers with a Gameday Pass, while the Green Line only ran to Stadium Village station on the University of Minnesota campus before continuing on with restricted access. Metro Transit ran shuttle buses between light rail stations, as well as regular bus service was moved for several weeks due to street closures. Thirty activist groups organized a rally and protest against police brutality, corporate greed, and racist practices. 17 people blocked the Green Line train for 90 minutes before the game, and 200 protesters blocked an entrance to the stadium's security perimeter.
My Comments: From start to finish, such an incredible game with a lot of great plays. The thing I remember most is the Eagles always playing to win. The Foles TD on 4th down. Going for it on 4th from their own 45. Had Brady scored at the end of the game, this would have been my #1, even if they missed the 2pt conversion.
Super Bowl LII (52)
Date: Feb 4, 2018
Location: Minneapolis
Final Score: PHIL 41, NE 33
Line: NE -5,5
Halftime Show: Justin Timberlake
Cost of 30 second ad: $5mil
QB Stats: Foles 28-43-1 373 3td, Brady 28-48-0 505 3rd
Other Notable Stats: Blount 14-90 1td, H.Agholor 9-84, C.Clement 4-100 1td, A.Jeffrey 3-73 1td, Gronkowski 9-116 2td, Amendola 8-152, Hogan 6-128 1td
Big Plays: Foles TD Catch. Clement 55yd rec, Amendola 50 yd rec
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
The New England Patriots won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Patriots kicked off to the Eagles, who opened the game with a 14-play, 67-yard drive that took 7:05 off the clock and resulted in a 25-yard Jake Elliott field goal, giving the Eagles a 3–0 lead. The drive was controlled by the arm of Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who completed 6 of 9 passes to five different receivers for 61 yards, with a few short runs by LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi mixed in. Foles also made two critical completions on third down plays, hitting Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard gain on third-and-4, and later found Torrey Smith for a 15-yard completion on third-and-12. The Patriots responded with a drive of their own, almost with exactly the same results; quarterback Tom Brady completed 6 of 8 passes for 60 yards to four different receivers, the longest a 28-yard strike to Chris Hogan. The drive stalled out on the Eagles 8-yard line, where they had to settle for Stephen Gostkowski's 26-yard field goal, which tied the game at 3–3. The game's first touchdown was scored by the Eagles on the next drive, taking only three plays: a short pass from Foles to Nelson Agholor, a 36-yard run up the middle by Blount, and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Foles to Jeffery to the left side of the field. The ensuing extra point attempt from Elliott was missed wide right, which made the score 9–3 in favor of the Eagles. The Patriots responded by advancing the ball to the Philadelphia 11-yard line on their next drive, which was set up by a 50-yard completion from Brady to Danny Amendola, where the quarter ended.
With the second quarter under way, the Patriots came away empty-handed on the drive, as Gostkowski missed a 26-yard field goal attempt after holder Ryan Allen mishandled the snap. New England's defense forced the game's only punt on the next drive. On the following drive, Brady completed a 23-yard pass to Brandin Cooks, but a hard hit by defender Malcolm Jenkins knocked the receiver out of the game with a concussion. On third down from near mid-field, the Patriots attempted a trick play that involved two handoffs and a pass downfield to Tom Brady. Brady was open, but dropped the throw from Amendola.
They went for it on fourth down, and a pass intended for tight end Rob Gronkowski fell incomplete, giving the Eagles the ball on their own 35-yard line on a turnover-on-downs. The Eagles capitalized on a drive featuring two key completions, a 19-yard catch by Zach Ertz on third-and-7, and a 22-yard reception by Jeffery on the Patriots 21-yard line. On the next play, a 21-yard rumble by Blount gave the Eagles another touchdown. They attempted a two-point conversion, which failed, making the score 15–3.
The Patriots quickly struck back, as Brady completed a 46-yard pass to Rex Burkhead on the first play after the kickoff. But the team could only gain two more yards, resulting in Gostkowski's 45-yard field goal that got the score to 15–6. The Eagles got the ball back with 7:24 on the clock and looked poised to score another touchdown after a 26-yard run by Ajayi gave them a first down on the Patriots 43-yard line. But on the next play, Foles threw a pass that bounced off Jeffery as he tried to make a one-handed catch, and went into the hands of Patriots safety Duron Harmon for an interception, which he returned eight yards to the 10-yard line.
The Patriots took advantage of the turnover with a seven-play, 90-yard drive, featuring a 43-yard completion from Brady to Hogan. On the next play, James White scored with a 26-yard touchdown run. Gostkowski missed the ensuing extra point, but the score was now 15–12. Eagles running back Kenjon Barner returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to his own 30-yard line as time ran down to the two-minute warning. Two plays later, on third-and-3, Foles completed a short pass to running back Corey Clement, who took off for a 55-yard gain to the New England 8-yard line. Clement then ran the ball six yards to the two-yard line on the next play.
Two plays later, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line with 38 seconds left on the clock. Deciding to go for the touchdown, they attempted a similar trick play to the one that had failed for the Patriots earlier, in what would become the most memorable play of the game. As Foles stepped up to the running back position, Clement took a direct snap and pitched the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who then threw the ball perfectly to Foles, who was wide open in the right side of the end zone. Foles caught the ball, making him the first quarterback ever to catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, and the ensuing extra point was good, giving the Eagles a 22–12 lead, which was taken into the locker room after a short drive by the Patriots. The play came to be known as the Philly Special.
The first half resulted in numerous Super Bowl records from both teams, including most total yards combined (673). This was also the first time two quarterbacks had thrown for over 200 yards in the first half of a Super Bowl, with Brady throwing for 276 yards and Foles 215.
Second half
The Patriots received the second-half kickoff and Brady led New England 75 yards in eight plays. Gronkowski, who caught only one pass for nine yards in the first half, caught five passes for 68 yards on the drive, the last a 5-yard touchdown reception to make the score 22–19.
The Eagles responded by moving the ball 85 yards in 11 plays on a drive that consumed less than five minutes and featured three critical third-down conversions by Foles. The first was a 17-yard pass to Agholor on third-and-6 from the Eagles 19-yard line. Later in the drive, he threw a 14-yard completion to Ertz on third-and-1 from the New England 40-yard line. Finally, he finished the possession with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Clement on third-and-6. The touchdown was upheld upon replay review, as officials confirmed that Clement kept both feet inbounds and controlled the ball. An Elliott extra point brought the score to 29–19 in the Eagles' favor.
Brady responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, completing all three of his passes for 61 yards, the last one a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hogan that brought the score to 29–26. The Eagles followed with an 8-play, 51-yard drive featuring a 24-yard completion from Foles to Agholor on the first play. By the end of the third quarter, the team had made it to the New England 16-yard line.
The Eagles opened the fourth quarter scoring with a Jake Elliott field goal to bring the score to 32–26.
Brady then came back with another 75-yard drive featuring a 30-yard reception by Amendola and ending with a four-yard pass to Gronkowski, his second touchdown of the game, giving the Patriots their first lead of the game with the score at 33–32.
On their next drive, the Eagles faced third-and-6 after two plays, but were able to keep the ball with a 7-yard catch by Ertz. Eventually they faced a fourth-and-1 on their own 45-yard line with 5:39 left in the game. Deciding to go for the conversion rather than punt, Foles completed a 2-yard pass to Ertz that kept the drive alive. Then after a 1-yard Blount run, Foles picked up three consecutive first downs with three passes to Agholor for gains of 10, 18, and 10 yards, respectively, moving the ball to the New England 14-yard line. Following a 3-yard run by Ajayi, Foles threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ertz with 2:21 remaining in the game. The play was held up on review; Ertz lost the ball after touching the ground in the end zone, but it was determined that he established himself as a runner and maintained control of the ball as he broke the plane of the goal line. A failed two-point conversion left the Eagles with a 38–33 lead. (4th and 1 call on own 45 was so ballsy)
On the Patriots' next drive, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham stripped the ball from Brady on the drive's second play for the game's only sack. Eagles rookie defensive end Derek Barnett recovered the ball, allowing the Eagles to run the clock down to 1:05 and force New England to use all their remaining timeouts. Elliott then kicked a 46-yard field goal, putting Philadelphia ahead by eight points, 41–33.
New England needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game and send it into overtime. After nine plays (one of them a 13-yard catch by Amendola on fourth-and-10), Brady reached the 49-yard line, and with only nine seconds remaining, he threw a Hail Mary pass to the end zone as time expired. The pass was incomplete, and the Eagles won their first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, and their first league championship since 1960, ending the third-longest active championship drought in the NFL at 57 years.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Amazon.com. Alexa has lost her voice, and celebrities like Anthony Hopkins, Rebel Wilson and Cardi B help out. The ad features Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon. It barely beat out an NFL ad starring Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. that parodied the movie Dirty Dancing.
Top 10 Ads
Interesting Story Lines:
1) Several records were set during Super Bowl LII, including most yards gained in an NFL game by both teams combined (1,151), fewest punts from both teams in a Super Bowl (one), and most points scored by a Super Bowl losing team (33).
2) Two Eagles, running back LeGarrette Blount and defensive lineman Chris Long, had been Patriots in 2017's Super Bowl LI.
3) To increase security around U.S. Bank Stadium, the stadium's light rail station was shut down for 48 hours before the game, and a nearby homeless shelter was temporarily moved beyond the security perimeter.[49] The Blue Line of the light rail system was only open to ticketholders and passengers with a Gameday Pass, while the Green Line only ran to Stadium Village station on the University of Minnesota campus before continuing on with restricted access. Metro Transit ran shuttle buses between light rail stations, as well as regular bus service was moved for several weeks due to street closures. Thirty activist groups organized a rally and protest against police brutality, corporate greed, and racist practices. 17 people blocked the Green Line train for 90 minutes before the game, and 200 protesters blocked an entrance to the stadium's security perimeter.
My Comments: From start to finish, such an incredible game with a lot of great plays. The thing I remember most is the Eagles always playing to win. The Foles TD on 4th down. Going for it on 4th from their own 45. Had Brady scored at the end of the game, this would have been my #1, even if they missed the 2pt conversion.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
PTS: 15
Super Bowl XLIX
Date: Feb 1, 2015
Location: Glendale
Final Score: NE 28, SEA 24
Line: PICK
Halftime Show: Katy Perry featuring Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott and the Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band
Cost of 30 second ad: $4.5mil
QB Stats: Brady 37-50-2 328 4td, Wilson 12-21-1 247 2td
Other Notable Stats: S.Vereen 11rec-64, Edelman 9-109 1td, Gronkowski 6-68 1td, M.Lynch 24-102 1td and 1-31, C.Matthews 4-109 1td
Big Plays: C.Matthews 45yd catch, Kearse catch
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
After the first two drives of the game ended in punts, New England got the first scoring opportunity with a drive to the Seattle 10-yard line. However, on third-and-six, quarterback Tom Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Jeremy Lane and returned to the 14-yard line. Lane broke his wrist and tore his ACL on the play when he tried to break his fall with his arm extended after being tackled by Julian Edelman, and subsequently missed the rest of the game. The game remained scoreless until New England's first drive of the second quarter, which began with Brady's 17-yard completed pass to Danny Amendola. Brady later completed a 23-yard pass to Edelman on third-and-nine, and eventually finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon LaFell.
Seattle began to make progress when Russell Wilson completed his first pass of the day, a six-yard completion to Jermaine Kearse on third-and-six and with 5:36 left in the second quarter. After a five-yard run by Marshawn Lynch, Wilson completed a 44-yard pass to receiver Chris Matthews on the Patriots 11-yard line, setting up Lynch's three-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Only 2:16 remained in the half after Lynch's touchdown, but the scoring was far from over. Brady completed 5/6 passes for 59 yards on New England's ensuing possession, the last one a 22-yard touchdown completion to tight end Rob Gronkowski with 31 seconds remaining. Taking the ball back on their own 20, Seattle started off their drive with a 19-yard burst from Robert Turbin and a 17-yard scramble by Wilson. Then Wilson completed a 23-yard pass to Ricardo Lockette, with a facemask penalty on defensive back Kyle Arrington adding additional yardage that gave the team a first down on the Patriots 11-yard line. Only six seconds remained until halftime at this point, but coach Pete Carroll decided to take a shot at the end zone rather than kick a field goal, a gamble that paid off as Wilson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Matthews on the next play, tying the game at 14 with just two seconds showing on the clock. (Huge plays at the end of each half!)
Second half
Seattle took the second half kickoff and drove 72 yards to the Patriots eight-yard line, featuring a 15-yard run by Lynch and a 45-yard reception by Matthews. After Lynch was stopped on third-and-one in the red zone, Steven Hauschka finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal, giving Seattle their first lead of the game at 17–14.[ On New England's next possession, linebacker Bobby Wagner's interception of a Brady pass and six-yard return gave the Seahawks the ball at midfield. Just as with their last interception, Seattle lost a key defensive player due to injury. Defensive end Cliff Avril lay on the field motionless. After finally getting to his feet, he entered concussion protocol and did not re-enter the game. Seattle's pass rush, particularly Bennett inside and Avril outside, had hurried Brady into several drive-ending incompletions as well as the first interception. "At times that night in the desert Bennett and Avril controlled the line of scrimmage almost by themselves."With Avril out, the Patriots were able to double-team Bennett and give Brady more time in the pocket.
Following Wagner's interception, Seattle's offense took advantage of the turnover, driving 50 yards in six plays and scoring on Wilson's three-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin, who was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for an improper end-zone celebration. This made the score 24–14, and it would remain this way going into the fourth quarter. Until this game, no team in Super Bowl history had come back to win after facing a fourth-quarter deficit of more than seven points.
With 12:10 left in the game, New England mounted a 68-yard drive to cut their deficit to 24–21 on Brady's four-yard touchdown toss to Amendola. The drive included two 21-yard completions from Brady to Edelman, the first one converting a third-and-14 in what was described by Bleacher Report as "the NFL's worst nightmare." Edelman was clearly concussed by Chancellor's helmet-to-helmet hit "suffering an apparent brain injury, staggering around on the field in plain view of the biggest television audience ever, per Deadline.com, and receiving no treatment."[Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported that "a medical observer was overheard radioing someone a second time saying Edelman needed to be examined." "I thought he was going to go to sleep the way he was running," fellow Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell told Matt Pentz of The Seattle Times. Nevertheless, Edelman remained in the game and eventually caught the game-winning touchdown pass.
Following a three-and-out for Seattle, New England got the ball back on their own 32 at the 6:52 mark. Brady started off the possession with two completions to running back Shane Vereen for 13 total yards, and followed it up with a nine-yard pass to Edelman. Following a penalty against New England, Gronkowski caught a pair of passes that moved the team up 33 yards to the Seattle 19. Over the next three plays, Vereen rushed for seven yards, Brady passed to LaFell for seven more, and Blount ran the ball two yards to the three-yard line. Finally, with 2:02 left in the game, Brady gave his team a 28–24 lead with a three-yard touchdown toss to Edelman.
After a touchback gave Seattle the ball on their 20, Wilson started off the Seahawks drive with a 31-yard completion to Lynch. Then after two incompletions, he picked up another first down with an 11-yard pass to Lockette. The following play gave Seattle an opportunity to win the game. Wilson threw a deep pass down the right sideline to Kearse, who was covered by rookie reserve cornerback Malcolm Butler. Both players dove through the air for the ball, and Butler managed to deflect it with one hand, but the pass fell right into the hands of Kearse, who tipped it to himself and caught the ball while he was lying on his back. Butler managed to recognize the catch and recover in time to shove Kearse out of bounds as he got up, preventing a Seattle touchdown, but the play netted 33 yards and gave the Seahawks a first down at the Patriots five-yard line with 1:05 left in regulation. Announcer Cris Collinsworth compared the play to two other acrobatic receptions by Patriots opponents that had defeated them in prior Super Bowls: David Tyree's Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLII and Mario Manningham's sideline catch in Super Bowl XLVI. Al Michaels also compared it to Antonio Freeman's famous Monday Night Football catch known as "He did what?" (a play that Michaels had himself called). The Kearse Catch
On the next play, Lynch ran the ball four yards to the Patriots one-yard line where he was brought down by Dont'a Hightower. Since New England did not call a timeout, Seattle was able to run the clock down to 26 seconds before taking the snap for the next play. The Seahawks called a pass play in which Kearse would run a pick on the right side of the field to draw defensive backs away from Lockette as Lockette ran a slant to the middle, but Brandon Browner blocked Kearse at the line of scrimmage, preventing him from reaching Butler. Lockette appeared to be uncovered at the one-yard line when Wilson threw him the ball, but before the ball arrived, Butler correctly read the play and rushed into position to make the interception.The turnover—after an unsportsmanlike conduct call for excessive celebration—gave New England the ball on their own one-yard line with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Butler Game saving INT and Collingsworth going nuts on the play call
The game was not quite over at this point. Since the ball was placed on the one-yard line, Brady had to take the snap in the end zone. If he took a knee or the Patriots otherwise failed to advance the ball beyond the goal line, this would be a safety, awarding Seattle two points and forcing the Patriots to kick the ball back to the Seahawks. Seattle would then have one time out and about 18 seconds to advance the ball into field goal range with the chance to win. However, the Patriots took a time out then held the ball as the play clock ran down in an attempt to draw a Seattle defensive player across the line of scrimmage. Had the play clock run out, the delay of game penalty would have merely moved the ball back half the distance to the goal line.
The strategy worked as defensive lineman Michael Bennett moved across the line of scrimmage, earning a five-yard encroachment penalty and moving the ball to the New England six-yard line. Brady then took a knee, Seattle called its final time-out, and Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin rushed some of the Patriots players, starting a brawl involving players from both teams that resulted in a personal foul penalty for Seattle. Irvin received the first ejection in Super Bowl history for throwing a closed hand punch at Rob Gronkowski.[8[Brady knelt one more time and the Patriots were victorious.
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Interesting Story Lines:
1) With the loss, the Seahawks became the fourth defending Super Bowl champions to lose in the following year's title game
2) NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX remains the most-watched program in the network's history
3) Ticket prices for Super Bowl XLIX rose quickly, with the lowest-cost tickets reaching over $8,000 by January 29.[45][46][47] The average ticket price charged by brokers was $10,352, an increase of more than three times over the previous year's prices.
My Comments: This game went back and forth all game like a heavyweight bout. Two insane plays in the closing minutes cap it all off. And Brady lucked out the win.
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PTS: 16
Super Bowl LI
Date: Feb 5, 2017
Location: Houston
Final Score: NE 34, ATL 28 (OT)
Line: NE -3
Halftime Show: Lady Gaga
Cost of 30 second ad: $5.02mil
QB Stats: Brady 43-62-1 466 2td, Ryan 17-23-0 288yd 2td
Other Notable Stats: J.White 6-29 2td and 14-110 1td, D.Amendola 8-78 1td, Edelman 5-87, D.Freeman 11-75 1td and 2-46, J.Jones 4-87
Big Plays: Alford 82 yd INT TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
The first quarter of Super Bowl LI was a scoreless defensive match with each team punting twice. The longest play from scrimmage was a 37-yard carry by Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, which did not lead to any points, though it would be the longest run of the game for either team.
On the first play of the second quarter, New England's quarterback Tom Brady completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Julian Edelman on the Falcons 33-yard line. But on the next play, linebacker Deion Jones stripped the ball from running back LeGarrette Blount; the fumble was recovered by defensive back Robert Alford on the 29-yard line. On the next two plays, Matt Ryan completed passes to Julio Jones for gains of 19 and 23 yards. Freeman ran the ball on the next three plays, covering the remaining 29 yards to the end zone, with the last carry being a 5-yard touchdown run that put Atlanta on the board with a 7–0 lead.
New England failed to get a first down on the series following the Freeman score, and the Falcons moved the ball 62 yards in five plays. Ryan started the drive with a 24-yard completion to Taylor Gabriel, then completed a pass to Jones for an 18-yard gain. On 3rd-and-9, he threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, giving the Falcons a 14–0 lead. It was the largest deficit Brady had ever faced in his seven Super Bowl appearances, and it would soon grow larger.
New England responded with a drive to the Falcons 23, aided by three defensive holding penalties against the Atlanta defense, each one giving them a first down on a third down play. However, on 3rd-and-6, Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by Alford and returned 82 yards for a touchdown, increasing Atlanta's lead to 21–0. It was the first time in his career that Brady had thrown a pick-six (interception returned for a touchdown) in his 33 postseason games, and Alford's 82 yard return was the second longest interception return in Super Bowl history. Brady ultimately became the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl in which he threw a pick-six. Getting the ball back with 2:20 left in the second quarter, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Martellus Bennett, and then a short pass to running back James White, who took off for a 28-yard gain. The drive stalled at the Falcons 20-yard line, but Stephen Gostkowski successfully made a field goal with two seconds left on the clock to send the teams into their locker rooms with the score 21–3.
Second half
New England had an early third quarter scoring opportunity when Edelman returned a punt 26 yards to the Patriots' 47-yard line, but they could not gain a first down on the drive. Following the Patriots' punt, the Falcons started their drive on their own 15-yard line; Ryan completed two long passes to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel for gains of 17 and 35 yards to bring the ball to the New England 28-yard line. Four plays later, Ryan finished the 85-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman, giving the Falcons a 28–3 lead with 8:31 left in the quarter.
On the next series, Brady led the Patriots 75 yards in 13 plays for a responding touchdown, completing five of seven passes for 43 yards, the biggest a 17-yard completion to Danny Amendola on 4th-and-3 from the New England 46-yard line. Brady also made a big play by helping his own cause, rushing for a 15-yard gain (which would be the longest rushing play by the Patriots on the day) on 3rd-and-8 from the Atlanta 35-yard line. Three subsequent carries by Blount moved the ball 15 yards to the 5-yard line, and then Brady threw the ball to White for a touchdown, but Gostkowski missed an extra point as the attempt struck the goalpost, thereby sending the score to 28–9.
New England then attempted an onside kick, but the ball was recovered by Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, and a penalty against Gostkowski for touching the ball before it went ten yards, gave Atlanta even better field position. Ryan completed a 9-yard pass to Hooper to the Patriots 32-yard-line, but on the next play, a holding penalty on Atlanta offensive lineman Jake Matthews pushed the team back ten yards. Then, after an incompletion, Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy shared a sack on Ryan that effectively forced the Falcons to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Matt Bosher's 42-yard punt pinned the Patriots back on their own 13-yard line. Brady led the next drive down the field, completing three passes to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for 40 yards and one to Bennett for 25 to bring the ball to the Falcons 7-yard line. However, Brady was sacked twice by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett over the next three plays. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal, where Gostkowski attempted a 33-yard field goal, which was good, and it cut their deficit to two scores, 28–12, with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Atlanta had burned two of their three time outs on defense and equipment malfunction.
On the third play of Atlanta's ensuing drive, Freeman missed his blocking assignment on a New England blitz that allowed linebacker Dont'a Hightower to sack Ryan as he was winding up for a pass, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Alan Branch on the Falcons 25-yard line. It was Ryan's first turnover in two months. New England soon cashed in their scoring opportunity, with Brady throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Amendola. Then White took a direct snap in for a two-point conversion to make the score 28–20 in favor of Atlanta with 5:56 left on the clock. The Patriots had run the same play for a two-point conversion with Kevin Faulk in their Super Bowl XXXVIII victory.
On the first play of Atlanta's next possession, Freeman caught a short pass from Ryan and ran it for a 39-yard gain, the longest play of the game for either team. Then on 2nd-and-9 from the Patriots 49-yard line, Ryan threw a deep pass to Jones, who made an acrobatic catch at the right sideline for a 27-yard gain, giving the Falcons a first down on the Patriots 22-yard line with 4:40 left on the clock and a chance for a late-game two-score lead that would have clinched the game. On the next play, Freeman ran for a 1-yard loss on a tackle by Devin McCourty.[140] Atlanta tried to pass the ball on second down, but Flowers sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on the Patriots 35-yard line. Ryan then completed a 9-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu on 3rd-and 23, but this was nullified due to an offensive holding penalty on Matthews. Now out of field goal range and faced with 3rd-and-33 from the New England 45-yard line, Ryan threw an incomplete pass, and the team was left with no good choice but to punt the ball to New England. (Second time ATL blew a chance to win the game)
Bosher's 36-yard kick gave the Patriots the ball on their own 9-yard line with 3:30 left on the clock and two of their timeouts left. After two incompletions, Brady picked up a first down with a 16-yard pass to Chris Hogan. After an 11-yard pass to Mitchell, Brady threw a pass that was nearly intercepted by Alford. Instead, he batted the ball in the air, and it fell into the arms of Edelman, who made a diving catch as it bounced off Alford's shoe. Edelman just barely managed to get his hands under the ball before it hit the ground, securing the football for what would be ruled as a 23-yard pass completion. Atlanta challenged the on-field ruling, but referee Carl Cheffers announced that the call stood, and Atlanta was charged with their final timeout.
Brady's next pass to Amendola gained 20 yards to the Falcons' 21-yard line as the clock ran down below the two-minute warning. Two more passes to White gained 20 yards and gave New England a first down at the 1-yard line. With 58 seconds left, White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Brady completed a 2-point conversion pass to Amendola, tying the score at 28 points a piece, thereby coming back from a 25-point deficit.
With the hopes of winning their first championship on the line, Atlanta started their drive deep in their own end with just under a minute and no time outs. The Falcons failed to get in range to score a possible game-winning field goal and punted, with the Patriots fair catching the ball at their own 35-yard line. The Patriots considered, but ultimately declined, ending regulation on what would have been the first fair catch kick ever attempted in a Super Bowl. (Not many people know about this rule, but I was screaming for them to try it)
Instead, New England attempted a fake quarterback kneel running play for Dion Lewis, who gained several yards but failed to score, ending the fourth quarter and forcing the game into overtime, the first time this had happened in the Super Bowl era, and the first in the NFL title game since the 1958 meeting between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants.
Overtime
The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime, and elected to receive the ball. Starting at their 25-yard line after a touchback, Brady completed passes to White, Amendola, and Hogan for gains of 6, 14, and 18 yards, respectively. Then, after White was dropped for a 3-yard loss, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Edelman to the Falcons 25-yard line. White then took a lateral throw from Brady to the 15-yard line. Brady's pass to Bennett in the end zone fell incomplete, but Falcons linebacker De'Vondre Campbell was called for pass interference, giving the Patriots first-and-goal from the Falcons' 2-yard line.
On first down, Brady threw another incomplete pass to Bennett that was deflected by Vic Beasley. On second down, White took a pitch and ran the ball right. He was hit by Falcons defenders at the 1-yard line, but managed to stretch forward and get the ball across the goal line before his knee hit the ground, scoring the game-winning touchdown. The Patriots won the game 34–28 for their fifth Super Bowl title after trailing by 25 points. It also marked the first time in NFL postseason history that a team leading by 17 points or more at the start of the fourth quarter went on to lose the game. Previously, dating back to 1940, teams leading by 17 or more points after three quarters in playoff games were 133–0 in such situations.
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Interesting Story Lines:
1) In the beginning of February 2017 the NFL and law enforcement announced that tickets to Super Bowl LI would feature heat-sensitive logos to deter counterfeit tickets. On the front of each ticket was a full polymer graphic that was raised and the back featured a true color security label with Houston's skyline and the Super Bowl logo. The final security feature was a graphic on the lower portion of the back of each ticket printed with thermochromic ink. The HTX logo and the NRG Stadium image faded when heat was applied and returned when the heat source was removed
2) Fox was able to earn an estimated $20 million by airing four extra commercials due to the additional overtime period. Even without historical precedent, Fox negotiated deals with a handful of advertisers in case overtime were to occur
3) Super Bowl LI had more than 30 records either broken or tied by the time it was done.
4) Late in the third quarter, the Falcons' chances of winning were estimated at 99.8%. (and i for one, hate all the probability BS sports uses these days. You seriously can;t find something better to talk about?)
My Comments: Not much more I can add to this one other than..... Congrats Tim!
Super Bowl XLIX
Date: Feb 1, 2015
Location: Glendale
Final Score: NE 28, SEA 24
Line: PICK
Halftime Show: Katy Perry featuring Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott and the Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band
Cost of 30 second ad: $4.5mil
QB Stats: Brady 37-50-2 328 4td, Wilson 12-21-1 247 2td
Other Notable Stats: S.Vereen 11rec-64, Edelman 9-109 1td, Gronkowski 6-68 1td, M.Lynch 24-102 1td and 1-31, C.Matthews 4-109 1td
Big Plays: C.Matthews 45yd catch, Kearse catch
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
After the first two drives of the game ended in punts, New England got the first scoring opportunity with a drive to the Seattle 10-yard line. However, on third-and-six, quarterback Tom Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by cornerback Jeremy Lane and returned to the 14-yard line. Lane broke his wrist and tore his ACL on the play when he tried to break his fall with his arm extended after being tackled by Julian Edelman, and subsequently missed the rest of the game. The game remained scoreless until New England's first drive of the second quarter, which began with Brady's 17-yard completed pass to Danny Amendola. Brady later completed a 23-yard pass to Edelman on third-and-nine, and eventually finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon LaFell.
Seattle began to make progress when Russell Wilson completed his first pass of the day, a six-yard completion to Jermaine Kearse on third-and-six and with 5:36 left in the second quarter. After a five-yard run by Marshawn Lynch, Wilson completed a 44-yard pass to receiver Chris Matthews on the Patriots 11-yard line, setting up Lynch's three-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Only 2:16 remained in the half after Lynch's touchdown, but the scoring was far from over. Brady completed 5/6 passes for 59 yards on New England's ensuing possession, the last one a 22-yard touchdown completion to tight end Rob Gronkowski with 31 seconds remaining. Taking the ball back on their own 20, Seattle started off their drive with a 19-yard burst from Robert Turbin and a 17-yard scramble by Wilson. Then Wilson completed a 23-yard pass to Ricardo Lockette, with a facemask penalty on defensive back Kyle Arrington adding additional yardage that gave the team a first down on the Patriots 11-yard line. Only six seconds remained until halftime at this point, but coach Pete Carroll decided to take a shot at the end zone rather than kick a field goal, a gamble that paid off as Wilson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Matthews on the next play, tying the game at 14 with just two seconds showing on the clock. (Huge plays at the end of each half!)
Second half
Seattle took the second half kickoff and drove 72 yards to the Patriots eight-yard line, featuring a 15-yard run by Lynch and a 45-yard reception by Matthews. After Lynch was stopped on third-and-one in the red zone, Steven Hauschka finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal, giving Seattle their first lead of the game at 17–14.[ On New England's next possession, linebacker Bobby Wagner's interception of a Brady pass and six-yard return gave the Seahawks the ball at midfield. Just as with their last interception, Seattle lost a key defensive player due to injury. Defensive end Cliff Avril lay on the field motionless. After finally getting to his feet, he entered concussion protocol and did not re-enter the game. Seattle's pass rush, particularly Bennett inside and Avril outside, had hurried Brady into several drive-ending incompletions as well as the first interception. "At times that night in the desert Bennett and Avril controlled the line of scrimmage almost by themselves."With Avril out, the Patriots were able to double-team Bennett and give Brady more time in the pocket.
Following Wagner's interception, Seattle's offense took advantage of the turnover, driving 50 yards in six plays and scoring on Wilson's three-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin, who was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for an improper end-zone celebration. This made the score 24–14, and it would remain this way going into the fourth quarter. Until this game, no team in Super Bowl history had come back to win after facing a fourth-quarter deficit of more than seven points.
With 12:10 left in the game, New England mounted a 68-yard drive to cut their deficit to 24–21 on Brady's four-yard touchdown toss to Amendola. The drive included two 21-yard completions from Brady to Edelman, the first one converting a third-and-14 in what was described by Bleacher Report as "the NFL's worst nightmare." Edelman was clearly concussed by Chancellor's helmet-to-helmet hit "suffering an apparent brain injury, staggering around on the field in plain view of the biggest television audience ever, per Deadline.com, and receiving no treatment."[Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reported that "a medical observer was overheard radioing someone a second time saying Edelman needed to be examined." "I thought he was going to go to sleep the way he was running," fellow Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell told Matt Pentz of The Seattle Times. Nevertheless, Edelman remained in the game and eventually caught the game-winning touchdown pass.
Following a three-and-out for Seattle, New England got the ball back on their own 32 at the 6:52 mark. Brady started off the possession with two completions to running back Shane Vereen for 13 total yards, and followed it up with a nine-yard pass to Edelman. Following a penalty against New England, Gronkowski caught a pair of passes that moved the team up 33 yards to the Seattle 19. Over the next three plays, Vereen rushed for seven yards, Brady passed to LaFell for seven more, and Blount ran the ball two yards to the three-yard line. Finally, with 2:02 left in the game, Brady gave his team a 28–24 lead with a three-yard touchdown toss to Edelman.
After a touchback gave Seattle the ball on their 20, Wilson started off the Seahawks drive with a 31-yard completion to Lynch. Then after two incompletions, he picked up another first down with an 11-yard pass to Lockette. The following play gave Seattle an opportunity to win the game. Wilson threw a deep pass down the right sideline to Kearse, who was covered by rookie reserve cornerback Malcolm Butler. Both players dove through the air for the ball, and Butler managed to deflect it with one hand, but the pass fell right into the hands of Kearse, who tipped it to himself and caught the ball while he was lying on his back. Butler managed to recognize the catch and recover in time to shove Kearse out of bounds as he got up, preventing a Seattle touchdown, but the play netted 33 yards and gave the Seahawks a first down at the Patriots five-yard line with 1:05 left in regulation. Announcer Cris Collinsworth compared the play to two other acrobatic receptions by Patriots opponents that had defeated them in prior Super Bowls: David Tyree's Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLII and Mario Manningham's sideline catch in Super Bowl XLVI. Al Michaels also compared it to Antonio Freeman's famous Monday Night Football catch known as "He did what?" (a play that Michaels had himself called). The Kearse Catch
On the next play, Lynch ran the ball four yards to the Patriots one-yard line where he was brought down by Dont'a Hightower. Since New England did not call a timeout, Seattle was able to run the clock down to 26 seconds before taking the snap for the next play. The Seahawks called a pass play in which Kearse would run a pick on the right side of the field to draw defensive backs away from Lockette as Lockette ran a slant to the middle, but Brandon Browner blocked Kearse at the line of scrimmage, preventing him from reaching Butler. Lockette appeared to be uncovered at the one-yard line when Wilson threw him the ball, but before the ball arrived, Butler correctly read the play and rushed into position to make the interception.The turnover—after an unsportsmanlike conduct call for excessive celebration—gave New England the ball on their own one-yard line with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Butler Game saving INT and Collingsworth going nuts on the play call
The game was not quite over at this point. Since the ball was placed on the one-yard line, Brady had to take the snap in the end zone. If he took a knee or the Patriots otherwise failed to advance the ball beyond the goal line, this would be a safety, awarding Seattle two points and forcing the Patriots to kick the ball back to the Seahawks. Seattle would then have one time out and about 18 seconds to advance the ball into field goal range with the chance to win. However, the Patriots took a time out then held the ball as the play clock ran down in an attempt to draw a Seattle defensive player across the line of scrimmage. Had the play clock run out, the delay of game penalty would have merely moved the ball back half the distance to the goal line.
The strategy worked as defensive lineman Michael Bennett moved across the line of scrimmage, earning a five-yard encroachment penalty and moving the ball to the New England six-yard line. Brady then took a knee, Seattle called its final time-out, and Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin rushed some of the Patriots players, starting a brawl involving players from both teams that resulted in a personal foul penalty for Seattle. Irvin received the first ejection in Super Bowl history for throwing a closed hand punch at Rob Gronkowski.[8[Brady knelt one more time and the Patriots were victorious.
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Interesting Story Lines:
1) With the loss, the Seahawks became the fourth defending Super Bowl champions to lose in the following year's title game
2) NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX remains the most-watched program in the network's history
3) Ticket prices for Super Bowl XLIX rose quickly, with the lowest-cost tickets reaching over $8,000 by January 29.[45][46][47] The average ticket price charged by brokers was $10,352, an increase of more than three times over the previous year's prices.
My Comments: This game went back and forth all game like a heavyweight bout. Two insane plays in the closing minutes cap it all off. And Brady lucked out the win.
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PTS: 16
Super Bowl LI
Date: Feb 5, 2017
Location: Houston
Final Score: NE 34, ATL 28 (OT)
Line: NE -3
Halftime Show: Lady Gaga
Cost of 30 second ad: $5.02mil
QB Stats: Brady 43-62-1 466 2td, Ryan 17-23-0 288yd 2td
Other Notable Stats: J.White 6-29 2td and 14-110 1td, D.Amendola 8-78 1td, Edelman 5-87, D.Freeman 11-75 1td and 2-46, J.Jones 4-87
Big Plays: Alford 82 yd INT TD
Game Summary:
FULL GAME
First half
The first quarter of Super Bowl LI was a scoreless defensive match with each team punting twice. The longest play from scrimmage was a 37-yard carry by Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, which did not lead to any points, though it would be the longest run of the game for either team.
On the first play of the second quarter, New England's quarterback Tom Brady completed a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Julian Edelman on the Falcons 33-yard line. But on the next play, linebacker Deion Jones stripped the ball from running back LeGarrette Blount; the fumble was recovered by defensive back Robert Alford on the 29-yard line. On the next two plays, Matt Ryan completed passes to Julio Jones for gains of 19 and 23 yards. Freeman ran the ball on the next three plays, covering the remaining 29 yards to the end zone, with the last carry being a 5-yard touchdown run that put Atlanta on the board with a 7–0 lead.
New England failed to get a first down on the series following the Freeman score, and the Falcons moved the ball 62 yards in five plays. Ryan started the drive with a 24-yard completion to Taylor Gabriel, then completed a pass to Jones for an 18-yard gain. On 3rd-and-9, he threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper, giving the Falcons a 14–0 lead. It was the largest deficit Brady had ever faced in his seven Super Bowl appearances, and it would soon grow larger.
New England responded with a drive to the Falcons 23, aided by three defensive holding penalties against the Atlanta defense, each one giving them a first down on a third down play. However, on 3rd-and-6, Brady threw a pass that was intercepted by Alford and returned 82 yards for a touchdown, increasing Atlanta's lead to 21–0. It was the first time in his career that Brady had thrown a pick-six (interception returned for a touchdown) in his 33 postseason games, and Alford's 82 yard return was the second longest interception return in Super Bowl history. Brady ultimately became the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl in which he threw a pick-six. Getting the ball back with 2:20 left in the second quarter, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Martellus Bennett, and then a short pass to running back James White, who took off for a 28-yard gain. The drive stalled at the Falcons 20-yard line, but Stephen Gostkowski successfully made a field goal with two seconds left on the clock to send the teams into their locker rooms with the score 21–3.
Second half
New England had an early third quarter scoring opportunity when Edelman returned a punt 26 yards to the Patriots' 47-yard line, but they could not gain a first down on the drive. Following the Patriots' punt, the Falcons started their drive on their own 15-yard line; Ryan completed two long passes to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel for gains of 17 and 35 yards to bring the ball to the New England 28-yard line. Four plays later, Ryan finished the 85-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown pass to running back Tevin Coleman, giving the Falcons a 28–3 lead with 8:31 left in the quarter.
On the next series, Brady led the Patriots 75 yards in 13 plays for a responding touchdown, completing five of seven passes for 43 yards, the biggest a 17-yard completion to Danny Amendola on 4th-and-3 from the New England 46-yard line. Brady also made a big play by helping his own cause, rushing for a 15-yard gain (which would be the longest rushing play by the Patriots on the day) on 3rd-and-8 from the Atlanta 35-yard line. Three subsequent carries by Blount moved the ball 15 yards to the 5-yard line, and then Brady threw the ball to White for a touchdown, but Gostkowski missed an extra point as the attempt struck the goalpost, thereby sending the score to 28–9.
New England then attempted an onside kick, but the ball was recovered by Falcons linebacker LaRoy Reynolds, and a penalty against Gostkowski for touching the ball before it went ten yards, gave Atlanta even better field position. Ryan completed a 9-yard pass to Hooper to the Patriots 32-yard-line, but on the next play, a holding penalty on Atlanta offensive lineman Jake Matthews pushed the team back ten yards. Then, after an incompletion, Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy shared a sack on Ryan that effectively forced the Falcons to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Matt Bosher's 42-yard punt pinned the Patriots back on their own 13-yard line. Brady led the next drive down the field, completing three passes to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell for 40 yards and one to Bennett for 25 to bring the ball to the Falcons 7-yard line. However, Brady was sacked twice by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett over the next three plays. The Patriots had to settle for a field goal, where Gostkowski attempted a 33-yard field goal, which was good, and it cut their deficit to two scores, 28–12, with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Atlanta had burned two of their three time outs on defense and equipment malfunction.
On the third play of Atlanta's ensuing drive, Freeman missed his blocking assignment on a New England blitz that allowed linebacker Dont'a Hightower to sack Ryan as he was winding up for a pass, resulting in a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Alan Branch on the Falcons 25-yard line. It was Ryan's first turnover in two months. New England soon cashed in their scoring opportunity, with Brady throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Amendola. Then White took a direct snap in for a two-point conversion to make the score 28–20 in favor of Atlanta with 5:56 left on the clock. The Patriots had run the same play for a two-point conversion with Kevin Faulk in their Super Bowl XXXVIII victory.
On the first play of Atlanta's next possession, Freeman caught a short pass from Ryan and ran it for a 39-yard gain, the longest play of the game for either team. Then on 2nd-and-9 from the Patriots 49-yard line, Ryan threw a deep pass to Jones, who made an acrobatic catch at the right sideline for a 27-yard gain, giving the Falcons a first down on the Patriots 22-yard line with 4:40 left on the clock and a chance for a late-game two-score lead that would have clinched the game. On the next play, Freeman ran for a 1-yard loss on a tackle by Devin McCourty.[140] Atlanta tried to pass the ball on second down, but Flowers sacked Ryan for a 12-yard loss on the Patriots 35-yard line. Ryan then completed a 9-yard pass to Mohamed Sanu on 3rd-and 23, but this was nullified due to an offensive holding penalty on Matthews. Now out of field goal range and faced with 3rd-and-33 from the New England 45-yard line, Ryan threw an incomplete pass, and the team was left with no good choice but to punt the ball to New England. (Second time ATL blew a chance to win the game)
Bosher's 36-yard kick gave the Patriots the ball on their own 9-yard line with 3:30 left on the clock and two of their timeouts left. After two incompletions, Brady picked up a first down with a 16-yard pass to Chris Hogan. After an 11-yard pass to Mitchell, Brady threw a pass that was nearly intercepted by Alford. Instead, he batted the ball in the air, and it fell into the arms of Edelman, who made a diving catch as it bounced off Alford's shoe. Edelman just barely managed to get his hands under the ball before it hit the ground, securing the football for what would be ruled as a 23-yard pass completion. Atlanta challenged the on-field ruling, but referee Carl Cheffers announced that the call stood, and Atlanta was charged with their final timeout.
Brady's next pass to Amendola gained 20 yards to the Falcons' 21-yard line as the clock ran down below the two-minute warning. Two more passes to White gained 20 yards and gave New England a first down at the 1-yard line. With 58 seconds left, White scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and Brady completed a 2-point conversion pass to Amendola, tying the score at 28 points a piece, thereby coming back from a 25-point deficit.
With the hopes of winning their first championship on the line, Atlanta started their drive deep in their own end with just under a minute and no time outs. The Falcons failed to get in range to score a possible game-winning field goal and punted, with the Patriots fair catching the ball at their own 35-yard line. The Patriots considered, but ultimately declined, ending regulation on what would have been the first fair catch kick ever attempted in a Super Bowl. (Not many people know about this rule, but I was screaming for them to try it)
Instead, New England attempted a fake quarterback kneel running play for Dion Lewis, who gained several yards but failed to score, ending the fourth quarter and forcing the game into overtime, the first time this had happened in the Super Bowl era, and the first in the NFL title game since the 1958 meeting between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants.
Overtime
The Patriots won the coin toss to start overtime, and elected to receive the ball. Starting at their 25-yard line after a touchback, Brady completed passes to White, Amendola, and Hogan for gains of 6, 14, and 18 yards, respectively. Then, after White was dropped for a 3-yard loss, Brady completed a 15-yard pass to Edelman to the Falcons 25-yard line. White then took a lateral throw from Brady to the 15-yard line. Brady's pass to Bennett in the end zone fell incomplete, but Falcons linebacker De'Vondre Campbell was called for pass interference, giving the Patriots first-and-goal from the Falcons' 2-yard line.
On first down, Brady threw another incomplete pass to Bennett that was deflected by Vic Beasley. On second down, White took a pitch and ran the ball right. He was hit by Falcons defenders at the 1-yard line, but managed to stretch forward and get the ball across the goal line before his knee hit the ground, scoring the game-winning touchdown. The Patriots won the game 34–28 for their fifth Super Bowl title after trailing by 25 points. It also marked the first time in NFL postseason history that a team leading by 17 points or more at the start of the fourth quarter went on to lose the game. Previously, dating back to 1940, teams leading by 17 or more points after three quarters in playoff games were 133–0 in such situations.
#1 and Top 5 Commercials link: Kia. Melissa McCarthy plays the role of a woman sent to protect the environment, but gets involved in various calamities. The ad is set to Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler.
Top 5
Interesting Story Lines:
1) In the beginning of February 2017 the NFL and law enforcement announced that tickets to Super Bowl LI would feature heat-sensitive logos to deter counterfeit tickets. On the front of each ticket was a full polymer graphic that was raised and the back featured a true color security label with Houston's skyline and the Super Bowl logo. The final security feature was a graphic on the lower portion of the back of each ticket printed with thermochromic ink. The HTX logo and the NRG Stadium image faded when heat was applied and returned when the heat source was removed
2) Fox was able to earn an estimated $20 million by airing four extra commercials due to the additional overtime period. Even without historical precedent, Fox negotiated deals with a handful of advertisers in case overtime were to occur
3) Super Bowl LI had more than 30 records either broken or tied by the time it was done.
4) Late in the third quarter, the Falcons' chances of winning were estimated at 99.8%. (and i for one, hate all the probability BS sports uses these days. You seriously can;t find something better to talk about?)
My Comments: Not much more I can add to this one other than..... Congrats Tim!
Zegras11
Footballguy
Standings After Getzlaf15's rankings of All Time Super Bowls
--STANDINGS--GOLD--SILVER--BRONZE--TOTAL
1 --Ilov80s--424--3--4--1=8
2 --Gally--416--3--1--3=7
3 --Zow--411--3--4--5=12 (silver)
4 --tuffnutt--409--4--1--6=11
5 --DougB--407--6--2--2=10
6 --AAABatteries--400--3--3--4=10
7 --joffer--392--5--3--1=9
8 --Getzlaf15--383--1--5--4=10 (bronze)
9 --Long Ball Larry--376--2--2--4=8
10 -otb_lifer--372--0--2--3=5
11 -timschochet--355--3--2--3=8 (gold)
12 -Jagov--345--2--7--0=9
13 -wikkidpissah--337--2--1--4=7
14 -jwb--335--2--4--2=8
15 -higgins--332--1--1--2=4
16 -Kal El--290--4--2--0=6
--STANDINGS--GOLD--SILVER--BRONZE--TOTAL
1 --Ilov80s--424--3--4--1=8
2 --Gally--416--3--1--3=7
3 --Zow--411--3--4--5=12 (silver)
4 --tuffnutt--409--4--1--6=11
5 --DougB--407--6--2--2=10
6 --AAABatteries--400--3--3--4=10
7 --joffer--392--5--3--1=9
8 --Getzlaf15--383--1--5--4=10 (bronze)
9 --Long Ball Larry--376--2--2--4=8
10 -otb_lifer--372--0--2--3=5
11 -timschochet--355--3--2--3=8 (gold)
12 -Jagov--345--2--7--0=9
13 -wikkidpissah--337--2--1--4=7
14 -jwb--335--2--4--2=8
15 -higgins--332--1--1--2=4
16 -Kal El--290--4--2--0=6
Mister CIA
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
Here's what I have for the Judging List left
Major League Baseball
9. Greatest baseball moment or game hagmania. @hagmania
NBA
15. Greatest NBA moment or game hagmania
NFL
19. Greatest Tight End Getzlaf
22. Greatest linebacker @otb_lifer
23. Greatest secondary player @higgins
25. Greatest Team @Ilov80s
26. Greatest NFL moment or game hagmania
College Football
28. Greatest offensive player Getzlaf
30. Greatest coach @otb_lifer
31. Greatest team Getzlaf
NHL
35. Greatest offensive player Getz
38. Greatest team Getz
Other sports (men’s)
43. Greatest soccer player (non goalie) . @zazale
49. Greatest soccer team . @zazale
Women’s sports
53. Greatest basketball player - @Long Ball Larry
And:
60. All around greatest athlete of all time @Zow
So I know Soccer teams are in progress.
Long Ball said Women's Hoops was close.
Hag was close on NFL moments.
Is OTB on TO?
Where are you others at?
If anyone is thinking they will go last, that's not going to happen. I still have five to do, and might do them now, but not post them until the end because two judges are still in the running here.
Major League Baseball
9. Greatest baseball moment or game hagmania. @hagmania
NBA
15. Greatest NBA moment or game hagmania
NFL
19. Greatest Tight End Getzlaf
22. Greatest linebacker @otb_lifer
23. Greatest secondary player @higgins
25. Greatest Team @Ilov80s
26. Greatest NFL moment or game hagmania
College Football
28. Greatest offensive player Getzlaf
30. Greatest coach @otb_lifer
31. Greatest team Getzlaf
NHL
35. Greatest offensive player Getz
38. Greatest team Getz
Other sports (men’s)
43. Greatest soccer player (non goalie) . @zazale
49. Greatest soccer team . @zazale
Women’s sports
53. Greatest basketball player - @Long Ball Larry
And:
60. All around greatest athlete of all time @Zow
So I know Soccer teams are in progress.
Long Ball said Women's Hoops was close.
Hag was close on NFL moments.
Is OTB on TO?
Where are you others at?
If anyone is thinking they will go last, that's not going to happen. I still have five to do, and might do them now, but not post them until the end because two judges are still in the running here.
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
Women's BBall Rankings starting shortly
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
This was pretty tough because it is very hard to compare these players across ages, leagues, time periods and competition.
8 of the selections played full, storied careers during the mature NCAAW and WNBA era. 2 are in that era but just starting to cement their place in the pantheon. 1 straddled older and newer eras. 4 were only in a bygone time and the hardest to assess. One really just doesn't belong.
I used team results in WNBA, NCAA, Olympics, World Cup and International Leagues, as well as individual awards at any level as the basis. Then tried to figure out who seemed like the best player to really build a team around. This one is a bit more art than my swimming rankings, as it needed to blend many different factors that were difficult to weight. At the end of the day, the longest careers mainly won out because I think that it's fairest to judge on what actually happened, not just peak or innate potential, though that was not the only criteria if the player's accomplishments seemed more situation-dependent and talent-based (not that any of these selections were untalented).
Now with that out of the way...
16 - 1 point
REBECCA LOBO
Great player and had a great senior year for UCONN leading them to a 35-0 record and a championship, while winning the Naismath and a host of other awards. Probably one of the greatest college seasons ever. But she did nothing professionally, largely due to injury, and only made 2nd-team All-WNBA once.
8 of the selections played full, storied careers during the mature NCAAW and WNBA era. 2 are in that era but just starting to cement their place in the pantheon. 1 straddled older and newer eras. 4 were only in a bygone time and the hardest to assess. One really just doesn't belong.
I used team results in WNBA, NCAA, Olympics, World Cup and International Leagues, as well as individual awards at any level as the basis. Then tried to figure out who seemed like the best player to really build a team around. This one is a bit more art than my swimming rankings, as it needed to blend many different factors that were difficult to weight. At the end of the day, the longest careers mainly won out because I think that it's fairest to judge on what actually happened, not just peak or innate potential, though that was not the only criteria if the player's accomplishments seemed more situation-dependent and talent-based (not that any of these selections were untalented).
Now with that out of the way...
16 - 1 point
REBECCA LOBO
Great player and had a great senior year for UCONN leading them to a 35-0 record and a championship, while winning the Naismath and a host of other awards. Probably one of the greatest college seasons ever. But she did nothing professionally, largely due to injury, and only made 2nd-team All-WNBA once.
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
15 - 2 points
CAROL BLAZEJOWSKI
Certainly the stuff of legends and she did win a National Player of the Year Award in college while scoring a billion points. Was unable to compete in the 1980 Olympics due to the boycott, which would have given her a chance to achieve more, though she did win a FIBA World Cup. She is compared to Pete Maravich, but to me, that doesn't really make you the best player. Great individual talent and obviously a hugely prolific scorer, but if I am building a team around someone, not clear to me that I want this kind of straight volume scorer.
14 - 3 points
ANN MEYERS
She was the first high school player on the US National team and the first woman to receive a 4-year scholarship. She was the first 4-time All-American in women's basketball history. She won a silver medal at the 76 Olympics and gold with the '79 FIBA team. Presumably would have been on the 1980 Olympic team. Played in the first women's pro league and won the Co-MVP. Was given $50,000 to participate in a tryout with the Indiana Pacers. All in all, just a higher level and more well-rounded level of accomplishment than Blaze
13 - 4 points
TINA THOMPSON
Wonderful WNBA stats in points and rebounds and is second all-time in points scored. Was a key part of 4 WNBA championship teams. Won a FIBA world cup and 2 Olympic gold medals. Had a very long WNBA career (17 seasons). But at the end of the day, seems to be more of a compiler than a true difference maker. Couldn't carry the team in her prime after Cynthia Cooper retired and Sheryl Swoopes aged. Only made first-team All-WNBA 3 times.
CAROL BLAZEJOWSKI
Certainly the stuff of legends and she did win a National Player of the Year Award in college while scoring a billion points. Was unable to compete in the 1980 Olympics due to the boycott, which would have given her a chance to achieve more, though she did win a FIBA World Cup. She is compared to Pete Maravich, but to me, that doesn't really make you the best player. Great individual talent and obviously a hugely prolific scorer, but if I am building a team around someone, not clear to me that I want this kind of straight volume scorer.
14 - 3 points
ANN MEYERS
She was the first high school player on the US National team and the first woman to receive a 4-year scholarship. She was the first 4-time All-American in women's basketball history. She won a silver medal at the 76 Olympics and gold with the '79 FIBA team. Presumably would have been on the 1980 Olympic team. Played in the first women's pro league and won the Co-MVP. Was given $50,000 to participate in a tryout with the Indiana Pacers. All in all, just a higher level and more well-rounded level of accomplishment than Blaze
13 - 4 points
TINA THOMPSON
Wonderful WNBA stats in points and rebounds and is second all-time in points scored. Was a key part of 4 WNBA championship teams. Won a FIBA world cup and 2 Olympic gold medals. Had a very long WNBA career (17 seasons). But at the end of the day, seems to be more of a compiler than a true difference maker. Couldn't carry the team in her prime after Cynthia Cooper retired and Sheryl Swoopes aged. Only made first-team All-WNBA 3 times.
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Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
12 - 5 points
SUE BIRD
Very long WNBA career culminating in being the all-time assist leader. Won 2 NCAA Championships, 3 WNBA Championships, 4 FIBA World Cups and 4 Olympic Gold Medals. Individual accolades are a bit more lacking, though. 1 Naismath Award and 0 WNBA MVPS. 8 All-WNBA selections, 5 of which were first-team. Won championships overseas, but every championship she has won professionally seems to involve 1 or 2 players who are ranked above her. Great player, great facilitator, just not quite transcendent.
11 - 6 points
NANCY LIEBERMAN
Lady Magic is one of the best all-around players ever. Could do what Sue Bird did, plus rebound and defend. Won 2 Player of the Year awards in college and 2 championships. Was named to USA Basketball team at age 17 and she won a silver medal at the '76 Olympics at age 18 and gold with the '79 FIBA team. Presumably would have been on the 1980 Olympic team. Continued her career through the 80s in a number of professional leagues, including several featuring men. Eventually suited up in the inaugural WNBA season at age 39. I think she ultimately can't match up to the athleticism of those in the top 10, but really an amazing player.
Top 10 starts tomorrow hopefully
SUE BIRD
Very long WNBA career culminating in being the all-time assist leader. Won 2 NCAA Championships, 3 WNBA Championships, 4 FIBA World Cups and 4 Olympic Gold Medals. Individual accolades are a bit more lacking, though. 1 Naismath Award and 0 WNBA MVPS. 8 All-WNBA selections, 5 of which were first-team. Won championships overseas, but every championship she has won professionally seems to involve 1 or 2 players who are ranked above her. Great player, great facilitator, just not quite transcendent.
11 - 6 points
NANCY LIEBERMAN
Lady Magic is one of the best all-around players ever. Could do what Sue Bird did, plus rebound and defend. Won 2 Player of the Year awards in college and 2 championships. Was named to USA Basketball team at age 17 and she won a silver medal at the '76 Olympics at age 18 and gold with the '79 FIBA team. Presumably would have been on the 1980 Olympic team. Continued her career through the 80s in a number of professional leagues, including several featuring men. Eventually suited up in the inaugural WNBA season at age 39. I think she ultimately can't match up to the athleticism of those in the top 10, but really an amazing player.
Top 10 starts tomorrow hopefully
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
WBB Rankings Continued...
10 - 7 points
CHERYL MILLER
Maybe controversial, but in this particular ranking, she is unfortunately going to get dinged for her short career, which obviously wasn't her fault. However, at the time that she played, i have no idea exactly where and when she would have played so no way to know what to give her credit for. If she came up today, I think that the competition would be a lot tougher, though I have little doubt she would be a great player. She might have ended up with a similar career to her USC teammate coming up later in this list. She is probably the most decorated high school and college player of all time. Won 3 Naismath awards and 2 championships at USC. Won a gold medal and a FIBA world cup. At the end of the day, just a little too much of a what if.
9 - 8 points
ELENA DELLA DONNE
In terms of straight talent and skills, she might be top 5. 6'5" with remarkable shooting touch (first 50-40-90 season ever in the WNBA) plus agility and purportedly improving defense. Some personal issues kept her from being fully engaged when younger, so between that and her relative youth, I can't put her much higher. 1 Olympic Gold and FIBA World Cup. No Naismaths or NCAA Championships (not really a knock since she completely carried that team). She has flourished since entering the WNBA, making All-WNBA 5 times out of 6 years, 2 MVPs, and a championship. Do this again in 5 years, and I suspect she is top 5, but right now, gotta leave her here.
8 - 9 points
CYNTHIA COOPER
Cheryl Miller's teammate at USC, she was a bit overshadowed at that time. Won an Olympic gold and 2 FIBA World Cups, before going to play overseas in Spain and Italy where she was an utterly dominant scorer for a decade. At age 34, she was still well-regarded enough to be one of the 16 "seed" players for the beginning of the WNBA, where they tried to spread around the best players across the teams. She was on a loaded team with the Comets and the competition was not what it is today, but she was still the top dog on 4 straight championship teams, winning Finals MVP each year and regular-season MVP twice. She still holds the WNBA record for career PPG. Again, had she played later, it would have been much harder to keep her this low, as many say that at her peak she was arguably as good as anyone, but we have to judge on the actual record.
10 - 7 points
CHERYL MILLER
Maybe controversial, but in this particular ranking, she is unfortunately going to get dinged for her short career, which obviously wasn't her fault. However, at the time that she played, i have no idea exactly where and when she would have played so no way to know what to give her credit for. If she came up today, I think that the competition would be a lot tougher, though I have little doubt she would be a great player. She might have ended up with a similar career to her USC teammate coming up later in this list. She is probably the most decorated high school and college player of all time. Won 3 Naismath awards and 2 championships at USC. Won a gold medal and a FIBA world cup. At the end of the day, just a little too much of a what if.
9 - 8 points
ELENA DELLA DONNE
In terms of straight talent and skills, she might be top 5. 6'5" with remarkable shooting touch (first 50-40-90 season ever in the WNBA) plus agility and purportedly improving defense. Some personal issues kept her from being fully engaged when younger, so between that and her relative youth, I can't put her much higher. 1 Olympic Gold and FIBA World Cup. No Naismaths or NCAA Championships (not really a knock since she completely carried that team). She has flourished since entering the WNBA, making All-WNBA 5 times out of 6 years, 2 MVPs, and a championship. Do this again in 5 years, and I suspect she is top 5, but right now, gotta leave her here.
8 - 9 points
CYNTHIA COOPER
Cheryl Miller's teammate at USC, she was a bit overshadowed at that time. Won an Olympic gold and 2 FIBA World Cups, before going to play overseas in Spain and Italy where she was an utterly dominant scorer for a decade. At age 34, she was still well-regarded enough to be one of the 16 "seed" players for the beginning of the WNBA, where they tried to spread around the best players across the teams. She was on a loaded team with the Comets and the competition was not what it is today, but she was still the top dog on 4 straight championship teams, winning Finals MVP each year and regular-season MVP twice. She still holds the WNBA record for career PPG. Again, had she played later, it would have been much harder to keep her this low, as many say that at her peak she was arguably as good as anyone, but we have to judge on the actual record.
I understand the what if aspect but she was the best player (as agreed by her peers/others after) to ever play even if it was a short career. Very disappointing result here. When tying in legacy, dominance, etc being a top 5 would have been more understandable. My only worry with the selection was length of career but figured a top 5 was assured.
This is not meant to be mean spirited in any way. Just my 2 cents. Good (by that I mean crappy....hahahah) job so far on a tough category unfortunately we see it differently......but that is why they pay you judges the big bucks......hahahhaha